A Lakeville man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for defrauding investors — including soon-to-be retirees — in a precious-metals scam.
David Thomas Rougier, 46, was sentenced Monday by Chief U.S. District Judge John Tunheim to 88 months in prison and three years of supervised release for one count of wire fraud. Rougier had pleaded guilty on July 18.
"The defendant callously preyed on several victims who were at or nearing retirement age — a population that not only lives on a tight budget, but is also trusting of those who claim to help them live out their golden years with security," Jill Sanborn, FBI special agent in charge, said in a statement.
Between November 2010 and June 2017, more than a dozen people paid about $835,000 to Rougier to invest in gold and silver, and in some cases, Rougier told investors their investments were virtually risk-free, the statement said.
Instead of buying the precious metals, Rougier spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of victims' money on shopping trips, entertainment, travel, strip clubs and other personal expenses. According to court documents, Rougier also collected precious-metals "storage" and "management" fees from his victims.
Mike Hughlett • 612-673-7003
