Self-Described Investment Advisor Raymond Echavez Villamor Gets 30 Months for $2 Million Swindle

Case from 2024–2026 (U.S. Attorney's Office latest release: May 6, 2026). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Raymond Echavez Villamor, 62, of Newport Beach, California, who claimed to be an investment advisor, was sentenced on May 5, 2026, to 30 months in federal prison for swindling a resident of Glenview, Illinois, out of $2 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1].

How the scheme worked

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office [1] [2]:

1. The company: Villamor operated a company called Rainbowork LLC.
2. The pitch: Over six months in 2023, he solicited and obtained a $2 million investment from a Glenview resident, making false statements about the investment.
3. False guarantee: He promised the investor would get all of the money back plus a substantial return.
4. Where the money went: He spent the money on personal expenses, including vintage automobiles.
5. Ponzi payments: He had raised money from other investors and used some of the Glenview investor's money to repay them, which prosecutors called "classic Ponzi-scheme conduct."

The person sentenced

Raymond Echavez Villamor, 62, Newport Beach, Calif. [1]

• Indictment: five counts of wire fraud, announced May 24, 2024; he initially pleaded not guilty [2].
• Plea: pleaded guilty in 2025 to one count of wire fraud.
• Sentence: 30 months in federal prison and full restitution, imposed May 5, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Andrea R. Wood.
• Prosecution: Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Hasten; investigated by the FBI Chicago Field Office.

Red flags

• A promise that you'll get "all your money back" plus a big return. Legitimate investments don't guarantee principal and profit.
• Large sums wired to a small private LLC with no audited track record.
• A promoter whose lifestyle purchases (cars, collectibles) seem to grow with your investment.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Check the person's registration at BrokerCheck and adviserinfo.sec.gov.
2. Get offering documents reviewed by an independent lawyer or accountant before wiring large sums.
3. Report investment fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov and the SEC at sec.gov/tcr.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Raymond Echavez Villamor, 62, Newport Beach, Calif.	N.D. Ill. (Judge Wood)	Pleaded guilty to wire fraud in 2025; sentenced May 5, 2026, to 30 months in prison and full restitution	[1]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "$2 Million Swindle of Suburban Chicago Resident Results in Two-and-a-Half-Year Prison Sentence," May 6, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/2-million-swindle-suburban-chicago-resident-results-two-and-half-year-prison-sentence
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "California Man Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges for Allegedly Swindling Suburban Chicago Resident out of $2 Million," May 24, 2024. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/california-man-indicted-federal-fraud-charges-allegedly-swindling-suburban-chicago

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