Eyewitness News first reported on claims about Oxford Gold Group last month. People said they transferred five-or-six-figure amounts to the company from their retirement accounts to invest in precious metals.
Gold investment with Beverly Hills company ends with loss of thousands of dollars, customers say
And then the actual gold never showed up in the depository and the company appeared to shut down without a trace.
Now others are coming forward from around the country with similar tales.
"My fear is that I'm not going to get the money back," says Scott Dahl.
After Dahl changed jobs he invested a big chunk of his 401(k) with Oxford Gold Group. He won't say exactly how much but he says the loss may prevent him from retiring.
Sophisticated sales techniques
Before investing, he searched online and found good reviews for Oxford. And the company was very convincing, sending out a sophisticated printed investment guide.
"This thing's probably 15 or 20 pages of just high end - you know this is a very nice product. They sent this to me, and they sent pictures of the precious metals that I that I purchased. Here's what they are. Here's what they're called, you've got so many of this and so many of that."
They also maintained a YouTube channel discussing how easy it was to buy and store gold, shipping it to the depository of your choice.
So Dahl placed an order and was told the physical gold coins would be sent to a depository in Utah.
It was all supposed to be handled by a company called Equity Trust.
But then he received a letter saying Equity Trust was no longer working with OxfordGold.
"I don't care what's going on with your companies," Dahl says. "But you've got my money. All I want you to do is to send the metals into the depository. That's all I need you to do, and if you can't do that, send the money back to me."
He called the depository in Salt Lake City that was supposed to have his gold coins. But they said they had no knowledge of the order.
Who enforces the law?
Since the original Eyewitness News report on Oxford Gold last month, people have come forward from as far away as Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Washington state and elsewhere to relate similar tales of financial loss.
The California agency that regulates the industry is the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Agency officials wouldn't talk about Oxford Gold specifically but say people need to be careful when trading metals.
"They're targeting senior citizens," says Danielle Stoumbos, senior counsel with the agency. "And it's because they have the highest amount in their retirement funds. And that's really what these precious metals dealers are focusing on. And they're trying to encourage people to sell securities in their traditional retirement accounts."
On Oxford Gold's website now there are a host of bad reviews, most of them posted within the last three months, with claims like "stole my money" and "Oxford Gold is a scam."
The company's office on Wilshire Boulevard is closed now and appears to be empty.
Stephen Petty also sent money to Oxford Gold.
"That was my daughter's wedding money," he says.
He says the company urged him to invest.
"They're all the same story, high-profile people contacting you telling you it's a good thing. It's a good decision. We're here to help. And I'm here minus 50 grand."
Eyewitness News contacted the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission but the agency declined comment on Oxford Gold.
"We can't comment on investigations," the agency said. "We do follow up on tips and complaints."
The state DFPI says in California a number of these companies are not required to register before they operate so you have no way of knowing much about them before you invest.
"But we do have a strong anti-fraud statute," Stoumbos says. "So if there's any misappropriation of customer funds, if there's misrepresentations or omissions in connection with the offer of sale or if there's a scheme to defraud, then we can take enforcement action against the company and the individuals that are operating the company."
The federal CFTC, however, notes "Getting money back is highly problematic because usually these people move quickly."
Eyewitness News tried to contact Oxford Gold Group. No one answers their phone line and the website appears to have been taken down. We did reach one person who worked as a manager there. She said she didn't want to talk about it but said anyone who lost money should be made whole.
Meanwhile, Dahl is left wondering if he'll ever be able to stop working.
"I may not retire ever," Dahl says. "I may die before I have the ability to retire just because of this group that's basically deceived me."