Las Cruces man gets 4 years for salsa con
California woman duped into giving 79-year-old swindler $65,000
A Las Cruces man who conned a California woman into investing in a fake salsa company in 2015 is headed to the big house.
On Oct. 15, one day after turning 79, Eduardo Triste was sentenced to four years in prison — and ordered to pay more than $65,000 in restitution — for defrauding Mary Hill, 70, in a salsa swindle, according to a release by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department.
“We are here to protect New Mexico investors. Fraudulent activity in our community will not be tolerated and we will pursue all actions to keep investors safe in our state,” NMRLD Superintendent Marguerite Salazar said in the release.
In July, Triste — also known as Edward Cristo — was convicted of fraud over $20,000 and securities fraud for defrauding the Orange County resident.
Triste met Hill, a telemarketer, on a cold call and soon struck up a long-distance relationship with her, making up grandiose lies before convincing her to partner with him in a New Mexico salsa business.
Hill ended up investing more than $65,000 to help pay for the trucks to transport the salsa product and for employee salaries, among other costs. Soon after, Triste stopped answering his phone and disappeared, leaving Hill to contact the authorities.
Hill found out that Triste had spent all her money, using some to pay back a man he had defrauded in the past — a crime for which he had been convicted and sentenced to probation.