Brett Edward Lovett sentenced to 16 years eight months for statewide investment scheme
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – On Thursday, Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch announced that Brett Edward Lovett was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in state prison for a statewide investment scheme.
Lovett, a 53-year-old former resident of Carpinteria, was a legal document assistant and solicited funds from his victims by claiming to be an investment manager and promising high returns on property investments detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, instead of investing his victim's money, Lovett used the money to purchase cosmetic procedures and vacations as well as to pay back victims from a prior fraud case in which he was sued by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
The case was initially reported to the California Department of Insurance by a 78-year-old member of Lovett's congregation at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Carpinteria shared the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
That 78-year-old reported that Lovett had stolen her life savings, forcing her into being homeless, and had attempted to use power of attorney to get her committed to a mental institution when she complained to elders at their church about the theft explained the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
The California Department of Insurance's investigation uncovered multiple additional victims across the state stated the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office then filed 36 felony charges against Lovett including securities fraud, grand theft, forgery, elder abuse, residential burglary, money laundering, and an aggravated white-collar enhancement under Penal Code section 186.11 reserved for thefts of over $500,000 detailed the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office, following a nine-week trial, a jury found Lovett guilty of 29 felony counts, the white-collar enhancement, and a series of aggravating factors including that Lovett targeted vulnerable victims, the crimes indicated panning and professionalism, and that the crimes caused damage of great monetary value.
"White collar crimes are particularly damaging to the elderly and the vulnerable, who often cannot financially recover from the loss of their life savings," explained District Attorney Savrnoch. "Our Office will continue to zealously investigate and prosecute those individuals who prey on the most vulnerable members of our community. Thank you to the California Department of Insurance personnel for a thorough investigation, and to District Attorney Investigator Daniel Tagles and Senior Deputy District Attorney Casey Nelson for ensuring that justice was done in this case."
