Texan Sentenced To 36 Months For Investment Scam

Orlando, Florida - U.S. Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces that U.S. Chief  District Judge Anne C. Conway today sentenced Blayne Davis (30, Austin, Texas) to three years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for three counts of wire fraud. Judge Conway ordered Davis immediately remanded to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing.

Davis was found guilty on March 9, 2011 for his involvement in an investment scam. According to court documents, Davis solicited investors by telling them that their money would be invested in the Foreign Currency Exchange (FOREX), stocks and hedge funds. Davis promised the investors, many of which were his friends, that they would earn returns on their investments ranging between 20% and 40%, over 45-day intervals.  Davis told the investors that their money was guaranteed and that he also had his own money invested. During the trial, the United States presented evidence that "returns" paid by Davis to investors were actually derived from other investors' funds.  The United States also presented evidence that Davis used the investors' money to gamble, travel, pay his mortgage, and pay various personal expenses.

In an effort to explain his numerous bank accounts and substantial cash withdrawals, Davis testified during the trial that he converted the victims' investments to cash and delivered the cash to FOREX traders in 2005 and 2006.  Davis claimed that the FOREX traders disappeared in 2006 and he was unable to locate them.

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