MIAMI, July 7 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Florida handed a 17 1/2 year prison term to an attorney who defrauded investors, including close friends, out of $4 million.
U.S. District Judge Donald Graham went beyond the sentencing guidelines that stipulated a maximum sentence of 12 1/2 years for Ponzi scheme operator Lorn Leitman because the attorney even swindled his close friends, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.
John Gentile called Leitman, whom he met while serving in the Army Reserves in the 1970s, "the brother I never had."
But Gentile, who became godfather to Leitman's daughter, was still taken in by the scheme that had Leitman living in luxury, the newspaper said.
Gentile even recommended the investment to family members, who thought they were supporting a financial firm that handled residential mortgages.
"It's bad enough when you get taken by somebody who is a close friend. It's worse when you recommend him to other family members and they get taken," Gentile said.
Leitman pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud. He was also ordered to repay $3.3 million, a sum victims will likely not see as Leitman could not make bail when arrested, the newspaper said.
