Jury Finds ‘Self-Styled’ Advisor Guilty of $20M Scam
David Allen Harbour spent client money on a private jet and a private Eagles concert, according to prosecutors.
A federal jury found an Arizona man who acted as a financial advisor guilty on six counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of transactional money laundering, according to court documents and the Justice Department.
David Allen Harbour, 49, of Scottsdale was found guilty by the jury on March 2 and he then, on Tuesday, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion, resolving two pending trials scheduled for later this month, the U.S attorney’s office for the District of Arizona said in a news release on Thursday.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 5 before Judge Douglas L. Rayes at U.S District Court for the District of Arizona.
“Harbour acted as a self-styled investment advisor who defrauded numerous victims between 2007 and 2021,” according to the Justice Department.
The total loss to investors exceeded $20 million and Harbour diverted his clients’ money to fund a lavish lifestyle, the Justice Department said.
“Harbour’s extravagant expenditures included: private jet travel; country club memberships in Arizona, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; million-dollar speedboats; stays at luxury hotels; expensive jewelry; and a private 40th birthday concert by the Eagles,” according to the Justice Department.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Justice Department indicted Harbour on July 30, 2019, alleging that, between about January 2010 and October 2015, Harbour “defrauded investor-victims … by promoting and selling fraudulent high-yield investments, primarily involving investments in high rate loans to small and start-up businesses.”
In relation to those purported investment opportunities involving payday loans, “Harbour participated in making materially false statements and omissions to obtain investment funds,” according to the indictment. Among other things, he promised “excessive returns in short periods of time,” according to the indictment.
Harbour acted “through numerous entities, either alone or with others,” the Justice Department said, adding he also made unauthorized withdrawals of their funds.
(Image: Shutterstock)