The Lake Shasta escape stunt finally caught up with him. A Redding man who tried to evade the FBI by diving into Lake Shasta on a submersible "sea scooter" was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in federal prison for his role in a $35 million investment fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley imposed a 360-month term and ordered roughly $25 million in restitution.
In federal court, Matthew Piercey received the sentence after pleading guilty last year to 27 counts, including wire fraud, money laundering and witness tampering. According to The Sacramento Bee, the judge also noted that co-defendant Kenneth Winton pleaded guilty in 2020 and is scheduled to be sentenced in August 2026.
How He Tried To Evade Arrest
Piercey’s arrest turned into a national spectacle. Prosecutors say he led agents on a vehicle chase that ended at Lake Shasta, abandoned his truck and swam out with what was later identified as a Yamaha 350Li underwater submersible. Court filings indicate he remained out of sight underwater for roughly 20 minutes before resurfacing and being taken into custody, and agents later found a wig and 31,000 Swiss francs in a storage locker tied to him. Those details are described by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California.
The Scheme And The Toll On Investors
Federal documents say Piercey solicited investments through entities including Family Wealth Legacy and Zolla, raising about $35 million and returning roughly $8.8 million to investors, leaving about $26 million unaccounted for at the time of his arrest, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. "Investment fraud schemes like the one led by this defendant can devastate lives," Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith wrote in that release. The Sacramento Bee reports that many of the victims were parishioners at Redding’s Bethel Church and that prosecutors say Piercey used some of the proceeds to buy a $1 million boat and renovate two houses.
Sentence And Next Steps
Nunley’s 360-month sentence and the restitution order cap a multiyear federal investigation that court documents say involved sham products, misleading pitch materials and efforts to conceal transfers through real estate and other accounts. Piercey will be sent to federal custody to begin serving the term while victims and authorities continue restitution and asset-recovery efforts.
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