A former associate of Santa Barbara investment scam artist Reed Slatkin was sentenced to five months in federal custody and five months of home detention for obstructing a federal probe and lying to investigators.
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Richard D. McMullin, 39, worked as an assistant in Slatkin’s office from the mid-1980s until 1999, handling phone calls from investors, helping to create account statements and researching stocks.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow ordered McMullin to pay a $4,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Atty. Steve Olson said McMullin paid $1.55 million in restitution to the bankruptcy trustee to help make up for his role in the scam, which fraudulently raised $593 million from some 800 investors over 15 years.
Morrow in September sentenced Slatkin to 14 years in federal prison for his scheme, which targeted many members of the Church of Scientology.