A Colorado Springs man has been convicted of bilking some 400 hedge-fund investors of more than $12 million.
Douglas Scott, 48, faces up to 24 years in prison after an El Paso County jury took less than four hours Friday to convict him of two counts of securities fraud and theft. He will be sentenced March 9.
Scott, who was an evangelical pastor, wasn’t licensed as a securities broker when he began luring investors into The Vision Fund, according to the state attorney general’s office.
Evidence showed Scott was paid $780,000 in referral fees in 2003 and 2004. He was working for XL Capital Partners in Colorado Springs. Two XL partners also were indicted.
Investors received about 40 cents for every dollar they invested. A total of more than $12 million in investors’ money was lost in the scam.
