Kelly Gearhart, 54, a former real estate developer in California’s Central Coast, who previously lived in Atascadero, California and currently resides in Wadsworth, Ohio, was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison for his conviction on fraud and money laundering charges after bilking investors who put millions of dollars into Central Coast real estate projects.  Gearhart was remanded into custody at the close of the sentencing hearing.

Gearhart, who was named Atascadero’s “Citizen of the Year” in 2006, pleaded guilty last year to two counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. When he pleaded guilty, Gearhart admitted that he knowingly and intentionally made misrepresentations and omissions relating to his Vista Del Hombre real estate development project to induce victims to part with their money. Gearhart admitted that he sold lots that were part of the Vista Del Hombre project in Paso Robles, even though those lots were being used to secure others’ loans. Gearhart admitted that he then used those same lots to obtain bank loans. Continue Reading…