SEATTLE (AP) - An investment adviser convicted of fraud for diverting millions of dollars of his clients’ money into two risky start-up companies that he controlled has been sentenced in Seattle to 16 years in prison.
A federal judge on Thursday also ordered 58-year-old Mark F. Spangler to pay nearly $20 million in restitution.
The U.S. attorney’s office says about $28 million has been recovered for the victims.
After a three-week trial, the former Seattle man was convicted last November of 32 criminal counts including investment adviser fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez told Spangler he used his clients’ trust against them. The judge called it “a complete betrayal in the worst possible way.”
The Seattle Times says Spangler’s lawyer plans to appeal both the guilty verdict and the sentence.
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