Calvin James Calvin, Parolee Who Lied He Was Investor for Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, Stole $198k Then Defended Self, Gets 13 Years

A 13-year prison sentence has been handed to a parolee who defended himself in court before being convicted of stealing $198,000 from seven victims of a fraudulent investment scheme that included him having told marks Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were his clients.

Calvin James Calvin, 48, of Newport Beach, had been found guilty by a jury on Jan. 28.

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Due to his previous conviction, Calvin was barred from investment activities when he approached people he met through churches or business detween December 2005 and March 2008 and let it drop he investment clients included NBA superstars, a bald-faced lie.

In one scam, Calvin claimed he was an investment broker, but he was really unlicensed, and he promised high returns via the stock market and that his commission would come out of the profits at no cost to the investor. At least five bought in.

The second scheme, which hooked at least one investor, involved Calvin posing as chief financial officer of a legitimate alarm company that he really had nothing to do with. His third scam had him convincing at least one business owner to let him raise capital.

In each case, Calvin provided a business address that actually went to a post office box in a Newport Beach laundromat. He deposited investors' money into a business account and then transferred the funds to his personal accounts before buying a home in Washington, a new Mercedes-Benz, sports memorabilia and more. His investors received nothing.

During the trial that had Calvin serving as his own counsel, he tried without luck to depose Kobe Bryant. The jury found Calvin guilty of seven felony counts of grand theft, four felony counts of using untrue statements in the purchase or sale of a security, and sentencing enhancements and allegations for causing over $100,000 in loss, property loss over $150,000, and a prior 2003 conviction for grant theft, the crime that placed him on parole at the time of the crime.

Calvin James Calvin, Parolee Who Lied He Was Kobe Bryant and LeBron James' Investor, Guilty of Stinging 7 Marks for $198,000

He was sentenced Friday.

Little-known fact: our Mexican-in-Chief was part of the original jury pool. OF COURSE he was the first person to be dismissed.

Email: mc****@oc******.com. Twitter: @MatthewTCoker. Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!

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