Royce Newcomb, a 62-year-old resident of Fresno, has pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith following Newcomb's admission to orchestrating a $4.2 million fraud scheme through his technology startup.
From 2017 to 2022, Newcomb operated Strategic Innovations, a company that claimed to develop smart home and business products aimed at preventing package theft and weather damage while aiding emergency responders and delivery services in locating addresses. Despite receiving media attention for his prototypes, including recognition from Time Magazine for the eLiT Address Box & Security System on its Best Inventions of 2021 list, Newcomb misled investors about the company's progress.
He falsely claimed to have secured a grant from the National Science Foundation and promised investors that their funds would be used for product development. Instead, he diverted the money towards personal expenses such as gambling, luxury cars like a Mercedes and Jaguar, and a mansion. He also used investor funds for refunds and unauthorized projects.
In addition to deceiving investors, Newcomb obtained fraudulent loans during this period. He received over $70,000 in COVID-19 relief from the Small Business Administration and more than $190,000 from private lenders by falsely inflating Strategic Innovations' revenue figures.
Newcomb's criminal history includes a prior federal conviction in 2011 for real estate fraud in Sacramento, resulting in a prison sentence exceeding five years. At the time of committing these new offenses, he was under federal supervised release.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation into this case with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Jeffrey Spivak handling prosecution duties.
Newcomb is scheduled for sentencing on May 5, 2025. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud charges and up to 10 years imprisonment with an additional $250,000 fine for money laundering charges. However, the final sentence will be determined by the court after considering statutory factors and Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
This case forms part of an initiative by California’s COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation—a collaboration between law enforcement agencies targeting large-scale pandemic relief frauds within California's Eastern and Central Districts—aimed at prosecuting those involved in exploiting pandemic relief programs.