Stephen Clifford, a former financial advisor from Plymouth, Mass., who is serving a sentence of nine to 12 years in state prison for rape and kidnapping, was sentenced on Oct. 27 to an additional 97 months in federal prison for financial fraud.
Clifford, once head of Clifford Financial Associates, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Gertner after pleading guilty to one count of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and three charges of filing false tax returns. The additional sentence will be served after he completes the term for rape and kidnapping, says the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston.
According to the financial charges, Clifford took money from clients for many years to invest but instead used it for personal expenses, and for a personal trading account he used to speculate on oil futures for himself. At least 20 investors lost about $4.3 million to him. He invested $2.1 million for himself but did not report it to the IRS.
The case started when he was arrested on the gambling floor of Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut in June 2008 on kidnapping and rape charges. He admitted binding a woman with duck tape and sexually assaulting her.
While investigating the rape charge, law enforcement began to unravel the financial scheme.