An Eau Claire mortgage broker convicted of 47 securities-related crimes has been ordered to pay back more than $440,000 to his victims.
65-year-old John Torgerson, as president of Preferred Acceptance Company, was accused and convicted of felony for issuing unregistered financial notes to more than 40 investors last October. Torgerson had previously been registered to sell such notes, but the state had revoked that right after his business came under fire. Furthermore, the prosecution wanted nine years of prison and nine years of probation for Torgerson but the court sentenced him in March with four years in prison and two years of extended supervision.
One of his victims recalls, "It wasn't a violent crime," Carol Heath, who was a victim of Torgerson's crimes, said. "It's what I guess I would call white collar crime but it's sure been painful and a lot of us got beat up pretty bad."
In addition to prison time, Eau Claire County Judge Michael Schumacher set the restitution at $444,000 defense attorney Matthew Krische argued that Torgerson didn't have the means or the potential to repay such a sum. The defense argued that he already lost everything of value including his reputation and his ability to work in the financial industry. Furthermore the defense said that he doesn't need to be locked away because he is not a violent person and doesn't have a criminal mind.
Before the judge sentenced him, Torgerson was able to address the court saying, "I'm very sorry for what happened to my investors. The fact I lost more than they did, namely everything, doesn't make them feel any better and I understand that. If I had to do it all over again I would not have sold notes at all."
District Attorney Gary King called the case one of the biggest financial crimes the county has ever seen and after the hearing was over he said, "A prison sentence was appropriate given all the factors involved."