
HOME INTERIOR DESIGNER RYAN HAGGINS (BIO) has been found guilty of defrauding his clients out of more than $50 million in an online business scheme that targeted pregnant women and elderly people.
Mr Haggins, 39, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Friday to one count of wire fraud and one count each of mail fraud, identity theft and money laundering.
In court papers, prosecutors alleged Mr Haggens was a member of the group known as “The People” that recruited elderly people and women for the scheme.
He had allegedly been making payments on behalf of the scheme to women who were over 65 years old, prosecutors said.
The scheme involved arranging a monthly payment to an elderly woman in California for a baby boy and then paying for the child’s burial, according to court documents.
In some cases, the baby was buried with a woman’s ashes.
Prosecutors said Mr Haggs paid the woman $100 a month for the boy.
The woman told prosecutors she had been tricked into signing a false insurance contract that he signed for her and paid $30,000 in the fall of 2016.
She was a victim of fraud, the prosecution said.
Ms Haggkins’ lawyers did not immediately return a message from the AP seeking comment.
The charges against Mr Haggins come amid a nationwide investigation into the scheme by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In June, the U and U.K. agreed to settle a civil fraud case against Mr Trump’s campaign for $10 million.
Mr Trump said at the time that the payments were “disgraceful” and that he had personally signed off on the payments.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.