David Syner sentenced to more than seven years in prison for 13 counts of Grand Theft Thursday
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced on Thursday that David Howard Syner was been sentenced to seven years eight months in state prison and ordered to pay $987,250 plus interest for stealing more than $1 million from a Thousand Oaks doctor.
Syner previously pled guilty on Jun. 22, 2023, to 13 counts of Grand Theft and admitted he stole more than $500,000 detail Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
A six-week restitution hearing ended in January of this year explain Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Syner also admitted to the following aggravated factors:
- PC 186.11(a)(2)-Excessive loss over $500,000
- CRC 4.421(a)(11)-The Defendant Took Advantage of a Position of Trust or Confidence to Commit the Offense
- CRC 4.421(a)(7)-The Defendant Received Concurrent Sentences for Other Crimes
- CRC 4.421(a)(8)-The Manner in Which the Crime was Carried Out Indicates Planning, Sophistication, or Professionalism
- CRC 4.421(a)(9)-The Crime Involved an Attempted or Actual Taking or Damage of Great Monetary Value
- CRC4.421(b)(3)-The Defendant Previously Served a Prior Federal Prison Term
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, between 2014 and August of 2018, Syner stole more than $1 million from a psychiatrist he had befriended.
The psychiatrist had given Syner control of his financial accounts in order to manage the psychiatrists' business affairs and over four years, Syner used 13 different methods to steal from the psychiatrist explain the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Syner used the money on luxury goods and services for himself and his fiancée including firs-class travel, entertainment, tuition, rent, health care insurance, csmetic surgery, and car payments detail the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
In August of 2018, the psychiatrist noticed Syner was stealing from him and hired a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to figure out how much had been stolen state the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
By October of 2018, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office Bureau of Investigation joined the investigation and in 2020, began to use an in-house accountant to track the money detail the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
“This case emphasizes the need to verify and supervise when allowing another person to access your financial records, regardless of your relationship,” said Senior Deputyt District Attorney Howard Wise who prosecuted the case. "No matter how smart you are, you can become a victim when you trust but don’t verify.”
