New York financial adviser gets 20 years in prison for bilking investors out of $10M-plus

ALBANY, N.Y. – An upstate New York investment adviser who admitted bilking investors out more than $10 million has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Former Schenectady resident Scott Valente was also ordered to pay $8.2 million in restitution at his sentencing Friday in Albany.

The 58-year-old Valente pleaded guilty in May to securities fraud and other charges stemming from his activities with his company, the ELIV Group of Albany.

Valente admitted that from December 2010 to June 2014, he falsely inflated returns for the business.

Valente claimed ELIV had annual investment returns of up to 48 percent when the firm actually lost money every year.