Scottsdale Man Sentenced To 16 Years In Jail For Investment Fraud

SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A Scottsdale resident will spend the next 16 years in prison for his role in a $23M investment fraud scheme.

Kent Maerki, 78, made misrepresentations about Dental Support Plus LLC and Janus Spectrum, LLC — the two companies he founded — to solicit investments, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Maerki used radio appearances and presentations to tout investments in wireless spectrum, which he called "Money From Thin Air," the report said.

Both Maerki and his colleagues sold "franchises" and "private equity" chances through sales people across the country, the DOJ said in a release.

The Scottsdale resident, who was barred from selling securities in 1984 by a federal court order, continued to sell investments without disclosing the information to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the Arizona and Virginia corporation commissions.

“This defendant made millions of dollars by deceiving innocent investors and perpetuating a scheme that defrauded vulnerable victims out of their hard-earned retirement funds,” Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in the release.

Maerki's scheme targeted groups such as the elderly, with investors cashing out their 401(k) plans and other retirement accounts to invest in the companies he founded, the release said.

“Today’s sentence sends a strong message that anyone in the financial services industry who lies, manipulates, and steals their way to success acts at their own peril and risks substantial jail time if they do not operate their practices truthfully and with integrity," Parekh said in the release.