Hedge Fund Manager Gets a 14-Year Prison Sentence for Fraud

The orchestrator of a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme has landed himself a 14½- year prison sentence.

Raymond K. Montoya, who managed a Boston hedge fund called the RMA Strategic Opportunity Fund, was convicted Thursday by a Massachusetts federal court, according to the Department of Justice.

Between 2009 and 2017, the 70-year-old Allston resident had been telling clients that the pooled investment fund was performing well, when in fact it had been doing the opposite. Montoya also promised he would invest their millions from personal savings and 401(k) plans in stocks and bonds, which he did, with just a small fraction of the clients’ money. The rest was used to finance Montoya’s lifestyle and his son’s mortgage.

Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. sentenced the hedge manager Thursday to 175 months in prison with three years of probation. He must also pay a restitution to be determined at a later date.

RMA’s investors included Montoya’s friends, family, and acquaintances residing in Massachusetts, Ohio, and California.

Montoya pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud, and two counts of conducting an unlawful monetary transaction last October. He had been previously charged with securities fraud in a civil complaint by the Massachusetts Securities Division.

Montoya had been telling clients RMA managed $4 billion in assets. He really held less than $150 million.

The Massachusetts district court could not be reached for comment.

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Tags: Fraud, Hedge Fund, Lawsuit, Raymond Montoya, RMA Strategic Opportunity Fund