A Sonoma man is suspected of running a real estate Ponzi scheme in the North Bay, and the properties he allegedly bought with other people's money are now going on the bankruptcy auction block.

In about 2021, people began noticing that a real estate investment company was buying all kinds of properties in the town of Sonoma, often leaving them vacant. It turns out the company was a house of cards, and now that it's collapsed and the bankruptcy sales have begun, it's leaving both the city and the investors wondering what the future holds for them.

His name is Ken Mattson, and the U.S. Attorney's Office said he was arrested in May on suspicion of defrauding hundreds of investors. He and his business partner Tim LeFever began buying up dozens and dozens of homes and commercial properties

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