Phony Investment Adviser’s 33-Month Prison Term Upheld on Appeal

A North Carolina man who pretended to be an experienced investor and defrauded friends and acquaintances of more than $200,000 lost Friday an appeal to undo his 33-month prison sentence.

Christon Jermaine Brewer, who pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in 2024, challenged the application of a sentencing enhancement based on abuse of trust, claiming it applies only where a defendant had a “fiduciary-type relationship with the victims” and not where a defendant was “a mere impostor.”

But the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said there was “more than sufficient evidence for the court to ...