Former Missouri CPA sentenced to prison for Ponzi scheme

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A one-time certified public accountant in south-central Missouri has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison for conducting a Ponzi scheme that swindled millions of dollars from dozens of victims.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri says that 47-year-old Douglas Richardson, of Lebanon, was sentenced Thursday in Springfield’s federal court to 188 months and ordered to pay more than $8.8 million in restitution to his victims across the US.

A jury convicted Richardson in 2019 of six counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering.

Prosecutors say that as part of his scheme, Richardson knowingly fleeced several elderly victims out of most or all of their retirement savings.