A former investment advisor convicted by a federal jury late last month for his role in an investment fraud scheme received a 35-year sentence. The fraud resulted in over $25 million in losses to more than 300 victims, most of whom were elderly.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Daryl Bank, 51, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, ran the scheme from approximately January 2012 through July 2017.
Bank and his co-conspirators—including attorney Billy Seabolt, 56, Raeann Gibson, 49, of Florida, and Roger Hudspeth 51, of Suffolk—deceived hundreds of unsuspecting investors, most of whom were at or near retirement age, by convincing them to invest in companies owned and controlled by Bank.
At Bank’s direction, co-conspirators stole significant portions of investment contributions to fund their criminal enterprise and Bank’s lavish lifestyle.
In 2010, Bank was barred from the securities industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Undeterred, Bank created a private equity company called Dominion Private Client Group (Dominion) and continued to sell unregistered securities on his own and through insurance salesmen across the country.
Seabolt served as Dominion’s legal counsel and was involved in the development of many of the fraudulent investments and corporations.
Preyed on the elderly
Unsuspecting investors cashed out of 401k and other retirement accounts to invest in Bank’s investment vehicles, without knowing that Bank immediately transferred 20% to 70% of the investors’ funds to companies that he controlled in the form of purported “fees.”
Bank was convicted of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, selling unregistered securities, securities fraud, and money laundering. Seabolt was convicted of conspiracy and mail fraud.
Gibson pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in February 2020. Hudspeth pleaded guilty to investment advisor fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to over 12 years in prison in May 2018.
“As proven during a five-week trial, these defendants and their co-conspirators defrauded hundreds of unsuspecting investors out of over $25 million, draining their retirement accounts and leaving a trail of financial and emotional devastation for the victims,” Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement. “The jury’s verdicts bring us one step closer to securing justice for the victims of these damaging, manipulative, and life-altering schemes. Our Office is deeply appreciative to the trial team and our law enforcement partners for their tireless work in unraveling this complex fraud and ensuring these defendants are held accountable.”
With more than 20 years serving financial markets, John Sullivan is the former editor-in-chief of Investment Advisor magazine and retirement editor of ThinkAdvisor.com. Sullivan is also the former editor of Boomer Market Advisor and Bank Advisor magazines, and has a background in the insurance and investment industries in addition to his journalism roots.
