A real estate agent from Seal beach, California, has been charged with 34 felony offences following his arrest in connection with an alleged $300,000 fake investment pool scheme, police have said.

Seal Beach police, said that John Wesley Martynec, 35, who was arrested in August, had since been bailed pending the start of his trial.

Mr. Martynec, who owns the Samax Real Estate firm in Seal Beach, came to the attention of the police in December 2010, following complaints from several victims of his scam, said police sergeant Steve Bowles.

The victims complained to police after Martynec cut off contact with them when they asked for their money to be returned.

Martynec had convinced his investors that the money they put into the scheme would be used to purchase foreclosed homes in and around Los Angeles County, before being renovated and then sold on for a handsome profit. He told victims that they would be able to see profits from the venture in just six months.

To make the ruse more convincing, Martynec sent the investors regular email updates, including deeds to properties he had supposedly bought. He told victims that each time he sold a property, he was injecting those profits straight back in to buy even more foreclosed homes.

Following an investigation, police revealed that Martynec had only purchased one home throughout the entire time the scheme was running, a $292,000 property that actually ended up being foreclosed itself.

“The properties that Martynec told his victims he had purchased were real, but his company never actually bought any of them,” explained Bowles.

It later turned out the property deeds Martynec had sent to his victims were faked.

Martynec has been charged with 34 felony offences by the Orange County District Attorney, including multiple charges of grand theft and several other violations.