A former Sandy Hook resident was sentenced to over eight years in prison and three years of supervised release Tuesday for operating a multimillion-dollar investment fraud scheme.
Garrett Denniston, 63, defrauded at least 54 victims of more than $3 million while operating a fictitious brokerage firm in Connecticut, ConsensusOne, LLC. Between 2005 and 2012, Denniston lured investors with promises of risk-free mergers and acquisitions and “friends and family” deals on stocks.
According to court records, the mergers and acquisitions were false and no stock was ever purchases for clients. Instead, the money was used to cover Denniston’s personal expenses and gifts to family members, covering his tracks by forging signatures and creating fake legal documents.
He was arrested in September 2012 and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in February.
Along with the 97-month jail sentence, Denniston has been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3,048,969.
“This lengthy prison term is appropriate for an individual whose long-running scheme defrauded at least 50 victims, including close friends and family, of more than three million dollars,” Acting U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said Tuesday after the sentence was handed down. “Many investors were financially ruined. The investing public is urged to steer clear of similar ‘preferred’ investment deals, promises of risk-free investments and guarantees of a high rate of return.”
“Hopefully, today’s sentence will act as a deterrent to everyone who works in the investment world,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Kimberly Mertz said. “Those who handle investors’ money must always act in the best interests of clients and never to enrich themselves. Unfortunately, the defendant’s many victims suffered losses perhaps even more profound than those measured in dollars and cents.”
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