UPDATE: Eliott Jay Dresher Pleads Guilty In $13.5 Million Ponzi Scheme That Traded On Famous ‘NASCAR’ Brand

UPDATE: Eliott Jay Dresher, the California man whose Ponzi scheme traded on the famous racing brand of NASCAR, now faces up to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in Los Angeles to mail fraud.

Dresher, 64, of Chatsworth, was jailed in December 2009 in a case brought by the FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Investigators said he promised investors returns of up to 25 percent every six months for financing a purported NASCAR merchandising business.

The business, however, was bogus — and Dresher had been using NASCAR’s name and operating a Ponzi scheme for about 10 years before the scheme collapsed in 2008.

“[A]ll of the funds paid to investors were ‘Ponzi’ payments that came from money invested by victims,” prosecutors said.

Among the victims was a Dresher friend from whom Dresher had solicited more than $250,000, prosecutors said. All in all, victims’ losses could total $9.5 million.

U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is presiding over the case. Dresher is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 19.

Dresher was arrested in Las Vegas in 2009. He has been held without bond since then. Family members also were among his victims, prosecutors said.

It is common for Ponzi and fraud schemes to trade on the names of famous people and companies.

Famed “Cheers” and “Fraiser” actor Kelsey Grammer claims he was duped by pyramid-scheme promoters tied to Staropoly.com and that his name and image were used without authorization, RadarOnline reported yesterday.