Jan.08, 2010, 10:20 AM

Mr. Terzakis was arrested this week. Two men who allegedly ran a real-estate investment Ponzi scheme now face 12 federal counts each of fraud and money laundering.

John D. Terzakis and Robert E. Estupinian, former owners and executives of the failed 1031 intermediary Vesta Strategies LLC, were arrested this week, advised of the charges against them and released on bond. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Jose, Calif., where Vesta was based, wants the two men to forfeit $24.6 million that they are accused of stealing from clients.

Mr. Terzakis, who lives in Hinsdale, Ill., didn’t return calls seeking comment. Mr. Estupinian said through his attorney that he denies the charges against him and intends to defend himself. The two were indicted by a grand jury in San Jose on Dec. 30.

Vesta held money for small investors who had sold real estate and planned to reinvest the proceeds through buying other real estate. In such deals, investors can avoid paying capital gains taxes if they use their proceeds to make another purchase within 180 days of the sale of the first property. In the interim, they must park the money with a “qualified intermediary,” according to the Internal Revenue Code.

Vesta, after collecting money as such an intermediary, abruptly closed its doors in 2008 without returning many of its clients’ deposits. “Instead, the defendants stole client funds for their own use, and also they used new client deposits to pay redemptions owed to earlier clients”  essentially a Ponzi scheme, according to the indictment.

Mr. Terzakis, now 52 years old, and Mr. Estupinian, now 47, sued each other during Vesta’s collapse, each accusing the other of embezzling money from the company. Those lawsuits are pending. The Wall Street Journal chronicled Vesta’s troubles in a July 2008 story.

Christopher Walsh, a Round Rock, Texas, investor, has yet to recoup nearly $1.8 million he deposited with Vesta. “We just hope to regain as much as possible through these indictments or other means,” he said Thursday.

Christina Pappas, a Downey, Calif., investor, is seeking the return of $2.8 million from Messrs. Terzakis and Estupian. “I have a feeling that (Mr. Terzakis) still has some funds out there somewhere,” she said. “Hopefully, I will recover some of my money.”

Mr. Terzakis, Vesta’s former majority owner, and Mr. Estupinian, its former chief executive, both are confined to their homes by court order and must wear electronic-monitoring devices.