Redding fraudster who fled FBI on Lake Shasta ‘sea scooter’ sentenced to 30 years
A Redding man who tried to escape the FBI by driving a submersible into Lake Shasta was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in federal prison for his role in a $35 million Ponzi scheme.
Matthew Piercey pleaded guilty last year to 27 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and witness tampering in a scheme that ran from 2016 to 2020. His arrest made headlines after he drove a “sea scooter” into the frigid November waters of the lake with federal agents in pursuit.
He stayed in the water for about a half-hour before emerging on a Yamaha 350Li submersible device. He was placed in handcuffs and taken away.
Court documents filed in 2020 described the arrest, saying Piercey, then 44, led agents on a chase near Redding before eventually stopping at Lake Shasta.
“First, he led law enforcement on a vehicle chase that went off-road twice in residential neighborhoods including next to an apartment complex, and then later onto Interstate 5 northbound,” prosecutors wrote. “Then, Piercey abandoned his truck near the edge of Lake Shasta, pulled something out of it, and swam into Lake Shasta.”
“Piercey spent some time out of sight underwater where law enforcement could only see bubbles,” prosecutors continued. “He remained in the frigid water for approximately 25 minutes.”
Among Piercey’s victims were members of his religious congregation, Beth El Church in Redding. According to the federal indictment, he used part of the proceeds from the scheme to buy a $1 million boat and renovate two houses.
At the time of Piercey’s arrest, about $26 million of the $35 million raised in the scheme was still missing. About $8.8 million was returned to investors, the indictment said.
He solicited investments in the names of several companies, including Family Wealth Legacy, Zolla Financial and a medical business based in Redding, the indictment said.
Piercey admitted that he “knowingly participated in a scheme or plan to defraud for purposes of obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses ...” court documents filed with his guilty plea show. He also admitted trying to hide the trail of funds through real estate transactions.
Piercey also pleaded guilty to charges that he attempted to persuade two people to withhold documents and other information from a grand jury investigating the case.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley sentenced Piercey to 360 months in prison. He also ordered Piercey to pay about $25 million in restitution to victims.
A co-defendant, Kenneth Winton, pleaded guilty in 2020 and is scheduled to be sentenced in August, court documents show.
