Ponzi schemer gets over 17 years

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A man once dubbed “King Perry” has been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for his role in masterminding a long-running investment scam that collected more than $115 million from 1,000 investors nationwide.

Perry Santillo appeared in federal court Thursday in Rochester, New York, more than two years after pleading guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy. A federal judge also ordered him to pay $103 million in restitution.

According to court documents, Santillo and his conspirators in the Ponzi scheme coaxed clients to cash in their retirement accounts and invest in sham companies under their control, using the money from newer investors to repay earlier investors.

To ensure a fresh supply of victims, Santillo and his confederates bought the businesses — and client lists — of several investment advisers and brokerages, prosecutors said, acquiring firms in Tennessee, Ohio, Minnesota, Nevada, California, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Indiana.

Federal securities regulators have said Santillo used some of the proceeds to fund a lavish lifestyle of cars, casino junkets and houses in multiple states. Lyrics to a song written for Santillo boasted that “King Perry” wears a “$10,000 suit everywhere he rides.”

Some of Santillo’s victims lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in retirement savings.

In a letter to the court, Santillo expressed regret and said he is “haunted by the devastation I have caused to so many.”

Several other figures in the scheme have pleaded guilty, including another ringleader, Christopher Parris, who faces sentencing next month.