State v. Gray

Defendant, a financial advisor, persuaded a number of his clients to invest in a stalled housing development that he knew to be deeply in debt. He did not fully disclose the project’s financial condition and stated that their investments would be used for construction and earn them a substantial return; instead, the money went to existing creditors, to defendant, and to his associates. Construction did not resume, and defendant’s clients—now alleged to be his victims—recovered only a fraction of their money. In defendant’s view, however, he had merely recruited investors for a…