Former Westlake financial adviser sentenced to 22 years in prison

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - A former Westlake financial adviser convicted of an elaborate Ponzi scheme was sentenced in federal court in Cleveland Tuesday.

Five months ago, Raymond Erker was found guilty of stealing $9.3 million from 54 investors, most of them elderly.

Erker was sentenced to a total of 22 years in prison.

During the trial, prosecutors called Erker a con man, saying “it was all one big lie.”

They said the Westlake financial adviser poured the victims’ life savings into high-risk investments like start-ups without their knowledge, and even spent that money on himself to buy and renovate properties.

Erker took the stand in his defense and maintained his innocence.

He said he completely failed as a businessman, but he didn’t mean to hurt his victims.

Some of Erker’s victims told us they don’t expect to get the thousands of dollars they lost back.

19 Investigates has been following this case since 2019, speaking to several of the victims.

You can watch our first story on the case here.

Erker’s associates, Tara Brunst and Kevin Krantz, took plea deals.

Brunst was sentenced to six months in a community treatment center and three years supervised release.

She owes more than $300,000 in restitution.

Krantz was sentenced to two years of probation and owes more than $12,000 in fines and restitution.

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