Former Private Equity CEO Sentenced to 33 Months for $63 Million Wire Fraud Scheme

ANALYSIS · October 15, 2026

Slug: former-ceo-o-c-based-private-equity

Package note: This analysis covers the Department of Justice press release dated October 15, 2026, announcing the sentencing in United States v. Marco Giovanni Santarelli. The release details a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud and the resulting 33-month prison term plus full restitution. It does not include the full plea agreement, indictment, or court judgment.

Primary sources

  • Department of Justice (October 15, 2026): https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/former-ceo-oc-based-private-equity-fund-sentenced-nearly-3-years-federal-prison

Santarelli, 57, of Laguna Niguel, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in October 2025 to one count of wire fraud. From June 2020 to June 2024 he raised about $63 million from more than 400 investors nationwide by selling unsecured promissory notes through his firm, Norada Capital Management. He marketed monthly interest payments at a “high-yield” rate of about 12% to 17%, said to come from diversified business investments but instead operated an unprofitable fund, hid more than $90 million in debt, inflated assets, and used new investors’ money to pay earlier ones.

Core Tension

The press release frames the case as a completed criminal prosecution that holds the former CEO accountable and begins victim recovery. Yet it leaves open how much of the $63 million will actually be recovered beyond the $5 million already seized. The document reports a 33-month sentence, $63,165,357 restitution order, guilty plea to one count of wire fraud, and more than $90 million in hidden debt on falsified balance sheets, but it does not address the sentencing guidelines calculation or any SEC civil action (the release says only that the SEC assisted).

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