Ponzi scheme
partner sentenced

Rande Worcester gets 5 months
in jail and must pay restitution

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By Leila Fujimori
lfujimori@starbulletin.com

A federal judge sentenced a Hawaii man yesterday to five months in prison and five months' home detention for his role in an international Ponzi scheme, Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Butrick said.

Rande Scott Worcester entered into a plea agreement with the government and was ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution, Butrick said. Worcester testified against co-defendants Montez Salamasina Ottley and Paul Lazzaro, who were principals in the "Cayman Islands Investment" scam, he said.

Worcester pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions, while the remaining criminal counts were dismissed, Butrick said.

Worcester brought mainland investors into an investment scheme that promised an 8 percent return for 13 weeks on money to be invested with the Cayman Islands government and bank, the indictment said, and "interest" was paid to investors from money invested by others.

Butrick described Worcester as one of the smaller group leaders who bilked $2.6 million out of investors, mostly from California. People defrauded in the scheme came from Hawaii, American Samoa, Japan and the mainland.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons will determine where he will serve his five months, but it will likely be the Honolulu federal detention center.

Visiting U.S. District Judge Manuel Real also sentenced Worcester to 1,500 hours of community service and three years' supervised release after serving detention.

Ottley was sentenced Tuesday to 26 years in prison and three months' supervised release for 15 counts including mail and wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the government.