Newport Pacific Mortgage Acceptance Corp

Investors who lost $15 million in the collapse of an Orange County real estate company in late July filed a lawsuit Tuesday charging that former owner Magdy Hanna and others lied to them about the company's financial health and other problems. The lawsuit, the first one filed after the fall of Newport Pacific Group and its related companies, accuses Hanna and other officers of violating federal and state securities laws in selling high-risk notes that weren't registered with regulators.

Investors who lost $15 million in the collapse of an Orange County real estate company in late July filed a lawsuit Tuesday charging that former owner Magdy Hanna and others lied to them about the company's financial health and other problems. The lawsuit, the first one filed after the fall of Newport Pacific Group and its related companies, accuses Hanna and other officers of violating federal and state securities laws in selling high-risk notes that weren't registered with regulators.

Investors who have pumped $20 million or more into companies owned by Orange County mortgage banker Madgy Hanna may have to wait until state regulators and local law enforcement agencies unravel a tangle of corporations and business deals to find out where their money went and whether there is any left.