Chelsea Investment Adviser Sentenced to Seven Years for Defrauding Investors of Millions

BOSTON—A Chelsea investment adviser was sentenced yesterday for mail and wire fraud.

Gary J. Martel, 55, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV to 87 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Martel was also ordered to pay restitution of $3.2 million and a forfeiture order of $3.2 million. In November 2012, Martel pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud and wire fraud.

Martel held himself out as an investment adviser and offered to invest his clients’ funds in a variety of specific investments, including bonds, mortgage lending pools, and stock. In fact, Martel did not invest the client funds as he had represented but diverted most of the money for his own personal use and created phony account statements which he sent to investors to hide his ongoing fraud. Some of these clients invested their life savings with Martel and lost everything. Martel stole substantial amounts from close friends, trusting clients and even family members. In total, Martel received approximately $5.4 million from investors, paid back only about $2.1 million, and retained proceeds of approximately $3.3 million.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Kevin Niland, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement today. The U.S. Attorney’s Office also acknowledges the valuable assistance it received from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Boston Regional Office; the Massachusetts Securities Division; and the Boston Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Miron Bloom of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.