Two Northern California fund executives pleaded not guilty Wednesday after a federal grand jury indicted them on wire fraud conspiracy charges tied to a collapsed $100 million investment operation.
Mark Hanf, founder and CEO of Pacific Private Money, and Nam Phan, another executive at the Tiburon-based firm, are accused of running a Ponzi scheme that drained retirement savings from 175 investors, many of them elderly Californians, from December 2021 through December 2025. Prosecutors say the pair raised roughly $103 million while falsely promising “highly attractive” returns from mortgage bridge loans.
Hanf, a Tiburon resident, continued promoting the firm’s “unique” strategy as recently as June 2025, appearing on the “Property Profits” podcast to tout its purported “Buy before sell” model for homeowners in transition.
“When done correctly, this is not going to cost you anything because you’re going to move out of your house as is into your new home with no extra moving costs,” Hanf said on the podcast.
In reality, prosecutors allege, the two funds were hemorrhaging money for most of that four-year period. Hanf had extended a large loan to a single borrower who defaulted, severely impairing one fund, according to the criminal complaint. Rather than disclose these losses, the executives allegedly shuffled money between funds to fabricate returns and lure new capital.
The complaint details how Hanf and Phan, a Novato resident, repeatedly misled investors through emails, in-person meetings and webinars about the true financial condition of the offerings. They assured participants their money would fund real estate loans generating income from lending activities.
Hanf allegedly siphoned approximately $7 million into another entity he controlled, using those funds for personal credit card bills and home mortgage payments.
The scheme began to collapse last fall when investors demanded withdrawals and the executives lacked sufficient cash to honor them. Both Pacific Private Money funds subsequently filed for bankruptcy.
“Despite total outstanding investments in the two private funds of almost $121 million, by February 2026 the total recoverable assets of those funds were estimated to be less than $17 million,” Securities and Exchange Commission Associate Director Jason Lee said in a news release.
“As alleged, these defendants falsely assured investors that Pacific Private Money was successful and profitable, knowing that continued losses had turned it into a Ponzi scheme,” U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian said in a statement. “The office will continue to pursue fraud in private markets and aggressively prosecute them to protect the public.”
Hanf and Phan were released on $250,000 bonds each following their not guilty pleas. If convicted, both men face maximum sentences of 20 years in federal prison.
Further court proceedings are scheduled for later this month.
PAGES: