Ex-Real Estate Salesman Convicted in $10-Million Fraud

A Sierra Madre man on Monday was convicted of 62 counts of securities fraud, money laundering and grand theft stemming from a real estate investment scam that bilked nearly 80 people out of $10 million, the district attorney’s office said.

Former real estate salesman Rodney Swanson, 47, faces a maximum term of 12 years in state prison and about $8 million in fines when he is sentenced Aug. 5. He sold promissory notes and partial interests in commercial and residential properties to investors, but in some cases he did not own the property, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Anthony Colannino.

The victims, many of whom were longtime family friends and members of his Burbank church, the Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church, spent between $10,000 to $775,000 per investment, Colannino said.

“The issue here was not so much the amount [of money lost] but the breach of trust,” Colannino said. “One of the victims was the defendant’s high school history teacher and track coach. These people were just devastated.”