<p>SANTA ANA, Calif. — A former Southern California man was charged Wednesday with running a “boiler room" scheme that bilked more than 100 investors out of $14 million.</p>
<p>Ronald Shane Flynn, who once lived in Orange County, was indicted by a federal grand jury on 15 counts of wire fraud, the county district attorney’s office said in a statement.</p>
<p>Flynn, 57, is believed to have left the United States more than a decade ago, according to the District Attorney’s office, which declined to comment on where he might be living.</p>
<p>Flynn ran Vuuzle Media Corp., which claimed to be a streaming media and entertainment business with offices in New York, Las Vegas and worldwide. </p>
<p>Prosecutors alleged that beginning in September 2016, the company offered what it claimed was an opportunity to invest in the business before its initial public stock offering, prosecutors said.</p>
<p>Although he was barred from offering securities in California and also in Ohio, Flynn ran the scheme while operating from the Philippines, Dubai and elsewhere, according to the indictment.</p>
<p>Flynn fielded a “boiler room" of salespeople, mainly based in the Philippines, that used high-pressure tactics to solicit about $14 million from investors, according to the indictment and a January lawsuit filed in New Jersey by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.</p>
<p>According to the indictment, Vuuzle never made a profit, Flynn never paid dividends to investors, and he never intended to take the business public. </p>
<p>Only a small percentage of the funds actually went toward the streaming business, authorities said.</p>
<p>Instead, according to the SEC lawsuit, about $5.5 million was used to pay commissions and expenses for the recruitment effort while Flynn used nearly $5 million to finance a luxury lifestyle that included buying jewelry and paying for resort stays and nightclub visits.</p>
<p>If convicted of the criminal charges, Flynn could face a sentence of up to 300 years in federal prison.</p>
