Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Royce Newcomb, a 62-year-old resident of Fresno, has been sentenced to five years and ten months in prison. This follows his conviction for wire fraud and money laundering in a scheme that defrauded investors, lenders, and the federal government out of $4.2 million. Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith made the announcement.
“Fraud schemes like this one are devastating to the victims, and prosecuting the perpetrators is one of our highest priorities,” said Beckwith. She emphasized the commitment of her office to collaborate with the FBI to combat such fraudulent activities.
Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel from the FBI Sacramento Field Office commented on Newcomb’s actions: “Royce Newcomb’s greed and disregard for the law while on supervised release adds salt to his victims’ financial wounds and serves as a cautionary tale for would-be investors.” Patel urged potential investors to thoroughly research before making financial commitments and encouraged reporting any suspected fraud promptly.
Newcomb owned Strategic Innovations, a technology startup that claimed to produce smart home and business products aimed at preventing package theft and weather damage while facilitating emergency responses. The company gained media attention, with Time Magazine recognizing its eLiT Address Box & Security System as one of its Best Inventions of 2021.
However, court documents revealed that Newcomb misled investors by falsely claiming receipt of a National Science Foundation grant and assuring them their funds would advance product development. Instead, he used these funds for personal expenses including gambling, luxury vehicles, a mansion, refunds to dissatisfied investors, and unrelated projects without investor consent.
Additionally, Newcomb secured over $260,000 through fraudulent loans from both private lenders and COVID-19 relief programs by misrepresenting Strategic Innovations' revenue figures.
Previously convicted in 2011 for real estate fraud in Sacramento and serving over five years in prison then, Newcomb was on federal supervised release when he committed these offenses.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Jeffrey Spivak prosecuting. It forms part of a California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation targeting large-scale pandemic relief fraud across multiple states.
