A former investment advisor who once hosted a financial radio show has been convicted in federal court for running an investment scheme to steal $25 million of client assets to fund the criminal enterprise and his lavish lifestyle.

Daryl Bank, 51, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., was convicted on Friday of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, selling unregistered securities, securities fraud and money laundering in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney for Eastern Virginia.

Bank is alleged to have run an investment fraud scheme for five years between January 2012 and January 2017, based near his Florida home, but also in other locations, including the Tidewater region of Virginia. He targeted more than 300 investors across the country, prosecutors said.

The scheme deceived investors, most of whom were at or near retirement age, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, to convince them to invest in companies owned and controlled by Bank. Bank’s co-conspirators took portions of those investment contributions to both fund their scheme and for personal expenses.

One of Bank’s alleged co-conspirators, Billy Seabolt 56, a Florida attorney, was also convicted on Friday of conspiracy and mail fraud.

Two other co-conspirators Raeann Gibson, 59, of Florida, and Roger Hudspeth 51, of Suffolk Va., had previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced. Gibson pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in February 2020. Hudspeth pleaded guilty to investment advisor fraud and money laundering and was sentenced to over 12 years in prison in May 2018.

Bank co-authored at least one book, “Successonomics,” and hosted a nationally syndicated radio show, “Getting Your Financial House in Order.” He also previously served as an investment advisor and registered representative for several firms in southeast Virginia and the New York metropolitan area, including UBS and Dean Witter, before being barred, according to Finra's Brokercheck.

In 2010, Finra barred Bank from the securities industry for allegedly misappropriating client funds and providing false information and testimony, leading him to found Dominion Private Client Group, a private equity company intended to sell unregistered securities both directly by Bank and by insurance salespeople across the country. Seabolt served as Dominion’s legal counsel and, according to the U.S. Attorney Office’s announcement, was also involved in the development of many of their fraudulent investments and corporations.

Bank and his conspirators sold illiquid and highly speculative investments to their clients by making material misrepresentations and omissions, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Based on their recommendations, many investors unsuspectingly cashed out of their retirement accounts, like 401(k)s, to invest in Bank’s offerings, the office said.

These victims didn’t know that 20% to 70% of their investments were transferred to companies Bank owned in the form of purported fees, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. As a result of the scheme, investors lost more than $25 million altogether, with some of the lost funds going to pay off previous investors, the office said.

The SEC barred Bank from the securities industry in 2018.

Bank will be sentenced on Sept. 20, prosecutors said.