CARSON CITY -- A Las Vegas man who pleaded guilty to fraud against the elderly and agreed to pay restitution has been sentenced to prison for failing to make the payments, the attorney general's office said Thursday.
John Meyers was sentenced on Tuesday to two consecutive prison terms of two to five years after he was prosecuted by the attorney general's Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The original indictment alleged Myers gained the victims' trust as their financial adviser and took advantage of that relationship by selling them securities without ever investing their money.
In a plea agreement, Myers agreed to pay $35,000 towards restitution prior to sentencing, with the remaining amount of nearly $200,000 to be paid within two years. When Myers failed to make the agreed upon payment, the attorney general's office asked that Myers be sentenced to prison. District Judge Valerie Vega imposed the sentence on Myers.
“ The Nevada attorney general's office has no tolerance for predators who perpetrate a fraud upon Nevada residents, especially our senior citizens,” said Jason Frierson, the deputy attorney general who prosecuted the case.
In a separate case concluded earlier this month in Las Vegas, a jury convicted Paul Ray of a felony count of theft by embezzlement in connection with securities trading.
The victim invested $75,000 with Ray to trade in the stock market. Ray embezzled more than $26,000 from the victim's investment accounts by transferring the money into private savings accounts and withdrawing the cash at various casino ATM machines in Las Vegas and Henderson.
After unsuccessfully demanding the return of her money from Ray, the victim contacted the secretary of state Securities Division which investigated the matter and referred the case to the attorney general's office for criminal prosecution. Ray faces a prison term of one to 20 years when he is sentenced Nov. 15.
