Owner of securities firm here is sent to prison
By Heather Ratcliffe
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
The owner of a securities firm in St. Louis was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison for defrauding investors of more than $4.5 million.
Scott Luster, 53, president and owner of Rate Search Inc., pleaded guilty in February in federal court in St. Louis of mail fraud and a tax charge, acknowledging that he used customer money for personal and business expenses.
Rate Search, which had offices in several locations near Forest Park, including the Chase Park Plaza, promised customers to find the best return on certificates of deposit by searching financial institutions across the country. Luster, of Belleville, bought a penthouse and a Jacuzzi with some of the money.
U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber sentenced Luster to 70 months and to pay $5.1 million in restitution to the IRS and investors.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/B6476F001739A05C862575A0004F479E?OpenDocument
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
The owner of a securities firm in St. Louis was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison for defrauding investors of more than $4.5 million.
Scott Luster, 53, president and owner of Rate Search Inc., pleaded guilty in February in federal court in St. Louis of mail fraud and a tax charge, acknowledging that he used customer money for personal and business expenses.
Rate Search, which had offices in several locations near Forest Park, including the Chase Park Plaza, promised customers to find the best return on certificates of deposit by searching financial institutions across the country. Luster, of Belleville, bought a penthouse and a Jacuzzi with some of the money.
U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber sentenced Luster to 70 months and to pay $5.1 million in restitution to the IRS and investors.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/B6476F001739A05C862575A0004F479E?OpenDocument
