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David Nilsen and Manoel Antonio Errico of Cedar Funding investment company ran $180 million Ponzi scheme that stole from 1,600 investors, many of them Central Coast residents, between 2004 and 2008.

Alleged Cedar Funding Ponzi scheme defendant posts $1M bond

10/03/09 - MONTEREY -- The owner of bankrupt Cedar Funding investment company, who is facing federal fraud charges for allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme with investors' money, posted a property bond worth $1 million Thursday.

David Nilsen, 58, provided proof of sufficient equity in a property identified as "zero Silver Saddle" in Hathaway Pines, a mountain community in Calaveras County near Arnold. As a result, he will be released from electronic monitoring that was required since his arraignment last month.

The Silver Saddle property is not listed as part of Cedar Funding's loan portfolio on the Web site cedarfundingbankruptcy.com. Nilsen had indicated he would use five different properties, including his own home, to meet the bond. As a condition of his release, he was ordered not to sell or otherwise transfer any properties in which he has an interest.

The Monterey man is charged with 31 federal counts including securities fraud and mail fraud.

He is suspected of swindling $180 million from 1,600 investors, many of them Central Coast residents, between 2004 and 2008.

The individuals believed they were making "hard money" real estate investments. In reality, according to an indictment handed down last month, Nilsen and his loan manager, Manoel Antonio Errico, paid off old investors with funds from new ones.

Errico is a fugitive, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_13477030