Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Convictions of Hucksters Who Stole $8 Million in a Phony Online Rewards Scheme
RIVERSIDE - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced that two men who stole millions of dollars through phony stock sales and an illegal pyramid scheme were convicted today on charges of grand theft and securities fraud. James A. Sweeney, II, 64, of Afton, Tennessee, and Patrick M. Ryan, 35, of Canyon Lake, California, were found guilty on 65 counts of grand theft and securities fraud. The two men, who face a maximum of more than 20 years in state prison, will be sentenced June 14 in Riverside County Superior Court. Sweeney and Ryan, co-founders of Riverside-based Big Co-op, Inc., stole approximately $8.2 million from more than 1,000 Californians through an illegal pyramid scheme and phony stock sales. Big Co-op, also operating as Ez2Win.biz, purported to be an online shopping hub where consumers could go to purchase thousands of goods and services at discounted prices from big-name retailers including, Sears, Target and Macy's. Pyramid Scheme Consumers were informed t...