A former investment advisor was sentenced earlier this week in federal court in Boston for deceiving his former clients concerning the management of their retirement savings as well as lying to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Richard G. Cody, 44, of Jacksonville, Florida, was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of supervised release. Cody was also ordered to pay a fine of $30,000. Cody pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and two counts of making a false declaration in a court proceeding iIn November 2018.

Cody acted as an investment advisor and managed the retirement savings of three victims, including two in Massachusetts, from May 2005 to August 2016. Cody falsely assured the victims that their retirement savings were secure, when in fact he knew they were not.

Contrary to his fraudulent assurances, by 2014, the total value of their retirement savings had substantially diminished, and the retirement savings of two victims were entirely gone. Cody provided the victims with fraudulent account statements and tax documents to conceal the losses. Cody also failed to inform his victims that regulators had suspended him in 2013 from acting as an investment advisor.

In addition, Cody lied to the SEC during a March 2017 sworn deposition in connection with a civil enforcement action the SEC had filed against him in December 2016. Cody made false declarations regarding fraudulent documents that he denied giving to two victims of the scheme.