A Rochester, N.Y., man was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after previously pleading guilty for helping run a $115 million Ponzi scheme, according to the Department of Justice.
John Law previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit mail, wire and bank fraud in connection with the scheme that resulted in $70 million in losses for victims.
To run the scheme, Law conspired with Perry Santillo and Christopher Parris (who were cited in the original complaint against Law), among others. According to the complaint, they began purchasing books of business from registered representatives and investment advisors around the country.
Law operated what he claimed was a legitimate investment advisory firm in Scotrun, Pa., but he later admitted that the business was fraudulent, operating as a front for the group’s Ponzi scheme. The Scotrun business was one of many in Santillo’s operation, with several different names, including Advice and Life Group, Poconos Investments, First American Securities and Financial Planners Group of America.
Once they purchased the books of business, Law and Santillo would urge customers to withdraw funds from existing investments and invest their money in a number of promissory notes, including from First Nationle, Boyles America, Percipience and United RL. However, Santillo and Law often failed to tell clients that they controlled these issuers as well.
According to the DOJ, investors…
