FRESNO, California — Royce Newcomb, a 62-year-old resident of Fresno, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges, admitting to a scheme that defrauded investors, lenders, and the federal government of $4.2 million. Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced the guilty plea.
From 2017 to 2022, Newcomb owned Strategic Innovations, a technology startup that claimed to develop smart home and business products, including the eLiT Address Box & Security System, which was featured in Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2021 list. However, Newcomb deceived investors by falsely claiming he had received a National Science Foundation grant and misused their funds for personal expenses such as gambling, luxury cars, and a mansion, according to court documents.
Additionally, Newcomb obtained a fraudulent COVID-19 loan exceeding $70,000 from the Small Business Administration and over $190,000 in loans from private lenders by falsifying revenue figures. He was previously convicted in 2011 for a real estate fraud scheme in Sacramento and was on federal supervised release when he committed the current offenses…