FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The owner of a technology startup was sentenced after stealing millions of dollars from investors, lenders, and the federal government, according to the Department of Justice.
Royce Newcomb, a 62-year-old from Fresno, was sentenced on Monday to five years and 10 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering charges in a long-running fraud scheme, where he stole $4.2 million from investors, lenders and the federal government, according to the DOJ
DOJ: Fresno man stole $4.2M from government, investors
Newcomb was also the owner of Strategic Innovations between 2017 through 2022, a startup that court documents state was intended to create smart home and business products meant to stop package theft, prevent weather damage to packages, and make it easier for emergency responders and delivery services to find homes and businesses.
The DOJ said it developed prototypes of his products that received local and national media attention for them – one of them was included on Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2021 list…