Legal News

Adviser to the Stars Gets 7 Years in Fraud Case

By Ashby Jones

Ken “No, Not that Ken Starr” Starr, a New York financial adviser, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Wednesday for defrauding celebrity clients and other investors. Click here for the WSJ story; here for the NYT story; here for the Bloomberg story.

Starr, 67 years old, admitted last September to bilking his clients out of tens of millions of dollars, including using client funds to buy a $7.5 million luxury condominium on Manhattan’s Upper East Side last year. Among Starr’s clients: Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Uma Thurman.

“I have no one to blame but myself,” Starr said on Wednesday. “No matter what happens, I’ll always carry the consequences of my conduct.”

U.S. District Judge Shira A. Scheindlin said the victimized clients were wealthy and not financially devastated by the fraud. However, the judge noted the victims shared a “close, personal relationship” with Starr and the fraud was emotionally devastating to several victims.

“These people worked with Mr. Starr for years,” she said. “This isn’t a faceless relationship.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 03, 2011 (boomark / email).