El Paso, Texas, duo convicted of bilking investors of $2 million in Ponzi scheme

EL PASO, Texas — Two El Paso men face federal prison terms and restitution after a jury convicted them Wednesday of carrying out an estimated $2 million Ponzi scheme on more than 50 investors.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

A federal grand jury convicted the following two men of conspiracy to commit wire fraud: Clarence Counterman, 59, owner of an income tax return preparation business known as Taxrite, and Robert Loya, 52.

Jurors also convicted Counterman and Loya of 14 and 13 substantive counts, respectively, of wire fraud. Loya and Counterman were acquitted of two and one substantive wire fraud charges, respectively.

Evidence presented during trial revealed that from December 2008 to October 2013, by promising high rates of return, both men conspired to convince others, including Counterman’s tax preparation clients, to invest in their solar energy-related companies: Renewable Energy Consultant Inc. (Nevada), EP Solar Technologies Inc. (Nevada), LITTCE Inc. (Texas), and Eco Global Corporation (Texas).

Contrary to the agreements with the victim investors, a significant amount of money was converted for personal use by Counterman, Loya and a third defendant, Leopoldo Parra, 54, also of El Paso. The men also paid some returns to earlier investors from money paid by newer investors rather than from profits earned by these companies in an effort to avoid detection of their scheme, and to lull investors into a false sense of security.

Testimony during trial also revealed that more than 50 investors combined lost more than $2.1 million as a result of the defendants’ fraudulent scheme.

Counterman and Loya face up to 20 years in federal prison for each count of conviction as well as restitution to their victims. Both remain on bond pending sentencing, which is set for Feb. 2, 2017.

Parra, who pleaded guilty Aug. 10to the conspiracy charge and one substantive wire fraud charge, faces up to 20 years in federal prison for each charge. He is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 30.

The FBI also participated in this investigation.  

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steve Spitzer and Chris Skillern, Western District of Texas, are prosecuting this case.