Cape Coral financial advisor sentenced for over $1 million fraud

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – A former financial advisor in Cape Coral was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding clients.

David Rockwell, 45, was sentenced to five years in federal prison for wire and bank fraud, according to the Department of Justice. The court also entered a money judgment of $1,018,000, the proceeds of his wire and bank fraud. Rockwell pleaded guilty on Jan. 14.

Rockwell managed investment and retirement accounts for his clients, according to court documents. Prosecutors said he started defrauding clients and misappropriating his clients’ funds for his own purpose.

He also defrauded a federally insured bank when he applied for two lines of credit for $700,000 in his clients’ names. The DOJ said he did this without his clients’ permission and knowledge.

Prosecutors confirmed Rockwell forged his clients’ signatures on the loan applications and pledged the clients’ assets as collateral for the loans, all without their knowledge. He used the funds that he got from the loans for his own benefit.

Rockwell also persuaded another client to invest in low-income housing in Florida, according to the DOJ. Once the client transferred $400,000 to fund the investment, Rockwell used the money to pay his personal credit cards and to buy a home.

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