Florida Man Sentenced for $1.3 Million Securities Fraud Scheme | OPA

A Florida man was sentenced today to more than four years in prison for operating an investment scheme in which he used investor funds to repay other investors and misappropriated funds for himself.

David C. Coggins, 42, of Miami, pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud on March 2, 2021. According to court documents, Coggins solicited investors to his investment fund between 2015 and 2020 by touting the fund’s successful performance and total assets under management. Over time, the fund lost money and Coggins used money from new investors to pay other investors. Coggins also misappropriated funds for his personal purposes. To conceal the fund’s actual losses and persuade investors to part with their money, Coggins fabricated reports purportedly showing the fund’s successful performance and created a fraudulent independent auditor’s report. By the end of 2020, the net asset value of the fund was nearly zero. 

In addition to the prison sentence, Coggins was also ordered to pay $1,305,000 in restitution.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez of the Southern District of Florida; and Inspector in Charge Delany De León-Colón of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group made the announcement.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Criminal Investigations Group investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Emily Scruggs of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.