Denver Man Sentenced To 8 Years In Investment Scam

ago.state.co.us, Oct 18, 2006

Attorney General John Suthers and Securities Commissioner Fred Joseph announced today that Denver resident Rico Vecchiarelli (DOB 2/21/76) was sentenced in Denver District Court for defrauding five investors out of $147,000.

Vecchiarelli, who addressed the court at his sentencing hearing last Friday, promised to pay the investors back. Following his comments, Denver District Court Judge Shelley Gillman sentenced Vecchiarelli to eight years in prison. If he delivers on his promise to pay back the $147,000 in restitution, his sentence will be reduced to four years.

“Vecchiarelli defrauded investors from the metro-area out of thousands of dollars with empty promises,” said Suthers. “This sentence is rightly deserved and we hope Vecchiarelli makes good on his promise to re-pay the investors who entrusted their savings to him.”

Vecchiarelli was originally charged with six counts of securities fraud and one count of theft. Vecchiarelli induced investors to invest in his company, Infinity Investment Properties, LLC, by promising that the investor money would be used to finance real estate purchases. In return for their investments, investors received a promissory note. In some instances, he promised to double investments in less than two months. Rather than use investor money for the purchase of real estate, Vecchiarelli used the funds for personal use. Read more at co.us