Ex-financial adviser in Va. sentenced for fraud

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) -- A former independent financial adviser will spend more than a year in prison for a fraud scheme that cost clients nearly $1 million.

Michael D. Leamnson was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Va. to a year and four months in prison.

The 56-year-old Roanoke resident had pleaded guilty last October to wire fraud and mail fraud. He admitted depositing clients' money into a checking account instead of investing the funds. He used the money for personal expenses, outside business interests and to make interest payments owed to clients.

U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy says many of Leamnson's clients were elderly investors. Many lost their savings because of the scheme.