Federal agents arrested Sonoma real estate developer Kenneth W. Mattson, 63, on Thursday following a sweeping indictment alleging a long-running Ponzi scheme that defrauded hundreds of investors—many of them retirees—out of tens of millions of dollars.
Mattson, former president of the now-defunct LeFever Mattson firm, is charged with seven counts of wire fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors say he used fake real estate partnerships to lure investors, then diverted their funds to pay personal expenses and keep earlier investors placated with payouts not backed by property profits but by newer victims’ cash.
“This indictment alleges that Kenneth Mattson defrauded hundreds of victims, many of whom entrusted him with retirement savings they could not afford to lose,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins, who called the case “a classic Ponzi scheme.”
Federal investigators allege Mattson raised at least $28 million between 2019 and 2024 alone from “off-books” investors—individuals promised shares in properties like the Divi Divi Tree and Heacock Park apartment complexes but never recorded as official partners. In one instance, he concealed an $8 million sale of an apartment complex while continuing to solicit new investors for it.
Authorities also charge that Mattson deleted thousands of files after learning of an SEC probe, despite being ordered to preserve them.
Mattson is scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge in San Francisco on May 23. If convicted, he faces decades in federal prison.
Victims are urged to contact the FBI at [email protected] or visit forms.fbi.gov/victims/lfminvestors.
