RIVERSIDE (CNS) - A March 25 trial date was confirmed Tuesday for a Perris woman accused of perpetrating a Ponzi scheme centered on an avocado business.
Consuelo Carrasco Ramirez, 54, was arrested last year following a two-month Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation. Ramirez, also known as "Consuelo Zeferina," is charged with eight counts of obtaining money by false pretenses, four counts of passing bogus checks and a sentence-enhancing white collar crime allegation.
When Is the Trial Date?
During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez conferred with the prosecution and defense regarding scheduling, and both sides agreed to be prepared for trial proceedings in the last week of March.
Ramirez is being held at the Smith Correctional Facility in lieu of $379,750 -- the sum she's accused of stealing.
How Did the Alleged Avocado Ponzi Scheme Work?
According to sheriff's investigators and court documents, from September 2023 to January 2025, the defendant allegedly defrauded six people, identified only by their initials -- "A.L.," "F.L.," "M.R.," "O.S.," "P.U." and "V.A."
Sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Fisher said Ramirez claimed to be operating a profitable "wholesale avocado business" and allegedly snared the victims by holding out the promise of high returns if they invested in it.
Instead of using their money for a business venture, however, she pocketed most of it, using only the amounts necessary to keep one set of investors happy while others were drawn in -- a classic Ponzi scheme -- Fisher alleged.
Who Were the Victims?
"Ramirez often targeted members of the Hispanic community and, in some cases, threatened to have them deported," the sergeant said.
One of the victims ultimately reported the alleged scam to authorities, culminating in the investigation which identified the others. The largest amount lost in the scheme was $87,630, put up by O.S., court papers alleged.
Ramirez has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.