South Lake Tahoe sent to prison for Genoa golf course scheme

Submitted by paula on Tue, 05/19/2015 - 12:18pm

A South Lake Tahoe man who bilked 11 people out of $3.6 million will be spending the next 19.5 years in prisons.

Scott H. Summerhays, 56, made false statements and used phony documents to solicit the money from victims who thought they were helping him purchase the Genoa Lakes Golf Course.

On Monday, May 18, Senior U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks ordered Summerhays to prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1.4 million in restitution.

Summerhays pleaded guilty in February 2014 to 14 counts of wire fraud, seven counts of money laundering, two counts of identity theft, and one count of aggravated identity theft.

“If you are considering a financial arrangement with someone, be sure to check the veracity of any documents they provide you, as fraudulent documents are common and easy to create,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.

According to the court records, during 2008 to 2010, Summerhays represented to potential investors that he was purchasing the Genoa Lakes Golf Club for $17 million and needed a short term loan to complete the deal because his own money was tied up in a trust. Summerhays also represented to the potential investors that he solicited funds for oil and gas investments in Texas and owned over $30 million in Berkshire, Las Vegas Sands and MGM stocks. Summerhays showed some of the investors a fraudulent investment account statement. Summerhays also claimed that he was in partnership with Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Aldelson, and showed potential investors a partnership agreement containing the forged signature of Adelson.

In reality, Summerhays had no investment portfolio, and Adelson never heard of Summerhays or had any partnerships with him. Using this scheme, Summerhays was able to convince 11 persons to loan him money for the golf course, totaling approximately $3.6 million. None of the investors were repaid and they lost all of the money they loaned Summerhays.

The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan Rachow.