A Scottsdale swindler, not the 'Stranger Things' star but known for his own method of horror—scamming people, has earned himself an eight-year ticket to the big house. David Allen Harbour, 49, was sentenced on January 30 for money laundering and wire fraud. He raked in millions from investors, only to splash the cash on a life of outrageous luxury, including a private Eagles concert, according to 12News.
Funded by his victims' coin between 2007 and 2021, the investment advisor's sham was exposed when he was convicted of swindling investors out of more than $20 million, which he blew on high-flyer perks such as memberships at exclusive country clubs and jaunts on private jets.
Do not confuse this David Harbour with any fictional character as he carved a stark reality by manipulating trust for personal gain with promises of inflated returns. While no Demogorgons were battled, bank accounts were certainly slain in his scheme. The U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona laid it out bare, detailing the extravagant expenses Harbour indulged in with his ill-gotten gains: million-dollar speedboats, luxurious hotel stays, sparkling jewelry, and yes, that private birthday serenade courtesy of The Eagles.
In a display of audacity, Harbour even took a stab at justice by attempting to pay off witnesses before his criminal trial began, for which the judge boosted his prison sentence. But what goes around comes around - Harbour pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on March 7, a little after being found guilty by a federal jury on a laundry list of counts including wire fraud and transactional money laundering. All told, he faced indictment on 22 counts by a federal grand jury in 2019.
"For his brazen lies that defrauded numerous victims out of more than $20 million, the defendant now justifiably faces the potential of a lengthy prison term," United States Attorney Gary Restaino confirmed in no uncertain terms. The echoed sentiment of deterrence and accountability from Restaino and his office reverberates as a warning to other would-be fraudsters, with a firm resolve to protect citizens and their hard-earned money.
Harbour's fate was sealed before U.S. District Judge Douglas Rates, with a sentence ready to be served as well as a looming restitution order, further contributing to the justice served, mega-mansion dreams deflated, and victims one step closer to restitution, if not yet restoration.
