Skip to main content
Press Release

Former Investment Adviser Sentenced to Prison for $6 Million Fraud

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. – A former investment adviser in Chesapeake was sentenced today to 12 1/2 years in prison for orchestrating an investment scheme that caused his clients to lose over $6 million.

According to court documents, Roger Odell Hudspeth, II, 49, was an investment adviser and sole owner of Dominion Investment Advisors, LLC. Hudspeth, along with other associates, sold fraudulent, unregistered securities to his clients. Hudspeth performed inadequate due diligence into the fraudulent investment offerings and concealed that the offerings were created, offered, and controlled by his associate, who previously had been banned by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for fraudulent activities.

As part of the scheme, Hudspeth and others held social security maximization seminars to obtain clients who were often in or near retirement. Hudspeth steered investors to investment offerings that were highly speculative, illiquid, and high risk by making material misrepresentations and omissions. Hudspeth’s clients lost over $6 million as a result of the securities fraud scheme, and Hudspeth received over $700,000 in ill-gotten gains, including $20,000 that he used to put a down payment on a Range Rover.

In early 2016, the Virginia State Corporation Commission entered a judgment order against Hudspeth revoking his licenses, permanently closing Dominion Investment Advisors, LLC, and prohibiting Hudspeth from engaging in any investment advisory activities in the future.

Tracy Doherty-McCormick, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Martin Culbreth, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Kelly R. Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Joseph Cronin, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa E. O’Boyle and Elizabeth M. Yusi prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:17-cr-122.

Contact

Joshua Stueve
Director of Communications
joshua.stueve@usdoj.gov

Updated May 21, 2018

Topic
Financial Fraud