A California man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison after using two real estate companies to run a $9.1 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 40 investors.

Matthew Campbell, 43, of Fresno, was sentenced to 52 months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in connection with the scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.

Campbell had presented his businesses as legitimate real estate investment opportunities, promising investors attractive returns from buying, renovating and selling properties.

But prosecutors say he instead used millions of dollars in new investor money in unauthorized ways, including paying earlier investors to keep the scheme going.

According to court documents, Campbell operated two real estate investment companies, Preferred Property LLC and Ampez Rehab Investments LLC, which he had used since 2012 to buy, sell, build and renovate properties.

The scheme allegedly began in 2018. Between January 2018 and October 2025, Campbell obtained more than $9.1 million from more than 40 investors, prosecutors said.

He knowingly made false representations about his companies' finances, projected returns and distributions in order to attract new investors, according to the Justice Department.

At least $2.293 million in new investor funds was used to pay earlier investors, helping to keep the scheme operating.

Officials said Campbell promised unrealistically high returns to persuade people to invest.

The U.S. Attorney's Office described the operation as a Ponzi scheme, in which money from newer investors is used to make payments to earlier investors rather than returns being generated through legitimate business profits.

'Mr. Campbell took advantage of the hard-earned savings of innocent people who were trying to secure their financial futures,' U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said in a statement.

'By masking a fraudulent Ponzi scheme as a legitimate real estate opportunity, he violated federal law and exploited the trust of dozens of investors.'

The FBI also highlighted the impact on Campbell's victims, saying some investors had believed they were putting their money into a legitimate business capable of producing guaranteed returns.

'Today's sentence ensures Matthew Campbell will pay a price for his crimes, but it cannot erase the breach of trust and financial devastation families and retirees who placed their confidence in Campbell suffered,' Brian Tosh, FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge, said.

'Each investor believed Campbell's claim that his legitimate real estate business could offer guaranteed returns, not knowing those promises were impossible to fulfill.'

Campbell pleaded guilty on February 9, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston.

A restitution hearing has been scheduled for October 22, 2026, when the court is expected to address repayment to victims.

The case has also attracted attention from financial fraud investigator Barry Minkow, who said he reported concerns about Ampez Rehab Investments to the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2021.

In an April 2026 LinkedIn post, Minkow said he had examined Campbell's promotional materials and investment documents and raised questions about claims surrounding the company's real estate holdings, licensing and investment structure.

Minkow said he subsequently referred the matter to California's Department of Financial Protection and Innovation after he said the SEC's Los Angeles office declined to act.

His account is separate from the federal government's criminal case, but the concerns he described predated Campbell's eventual guilty plea.

The FBI investigation ultimately led to the federal prosecution.

Minkow has also criticized what he sees as weaknesses in the oversight of the wider private real estate investment industry. 

He argues that larger financial companies possibly committing fraud can be difficult for regulators to scrutinize because investors may have limited visibility into complex debt arrangements, cross-collateralized loans and other financial structures that can make it difficult to establish how much equity is actually backing an investment.

He has called on regulators to move faster by obtaining bank records, arguing that they can provide a clear picture of where investor money is going and whether funds are being used as promised. 

In his view, the fact that it took almost five years from his initial report to Campbell's guilty plea highlights the challenges regulators face in uncovering financial fraud before more investors are affected.

The case serves as a warning for consumers considering private real estate investments, particularly opportunities that promise unusually high or supposedly guaranteed returns.

Investors may want to establish exactly where their money is going, verify the underlying properties and independently check the company's financial and licensing claims before handing over their savings.