Adviser sentenced in fraud scheme

SARASOTA — Gaeton “Guy” Della Penna, a financial adviser who lived on Siesta Key in Sarasota and defrauded clients of roughly $3 million, has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

Della Penna, who pleaded guilty in May to a pair of counts of wire and mail fraud, also was ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Kovachevich late last week in Tampa.

The 62-year-old financial adviser was sentenced to five years and 10 months in federal prison for running a Ponzi scheme after investments failed to generate promised yields. Following the sentencing, Della Penna was remanded into custody.