A Palmer man who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from older Alaskans in an investment scam was sentenced this week to two years in prison.
Faunus M. Doney, 37, was first arrested on a federal charge of wire fraud in August. He pleaded guilty in September.
Doney was a licensed insurance broker who hosted seminars throughout Alaska to encourage older Alaskans to invest in life insurance and annuity programs, according to the plea agreement filed in federal court. Doney convinced three victims, all retired, to invest in the products he’d been marketing, the agreement said.
Doney deposited the victims’ money into his personal bank accounts, the plea agreement said. He created false account statements and balance sheets to send to the victims, according to the agreement.
Doney’s attorney Nick Oberheiden said his client accepts full responsibility for his actions and was under financial stress when he committed the crimes.
“The fraud he committed against these three victims was a series of terrible choices made at one point in Mr. Doney’s life and not indicative of the kind of person his family and friends know him to be,” the sentencing memorandum said.
Judge Joshua Kindred ordered Doney to pay $377,946 in restitution to his victims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska said in an online statement.
Doney was also sentenced to three years on supervised release after prison.