Cape man sentenced in investment scheme

A Cape Girardeau man was sentenced to 51 months in prison Friday for a fraud scheme in which he duped elderly investors out of $2 million.

Rick D. Shirrell previously was found guilty of one felony count of wire fraud and one felony count of money laundering. He was ordered to pay $2.07 million in restitution.

The 48-year-old former St. Louis resident admitted promising high return rates to lure victims into investing in his company, Phoenix Financial Ltd., based on the Caribbean island of Anguilla.

According to the Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation office in St. Louis, which investigated the case, Shirrell induced individuals throughout the U.S. to lend money to his company between 1998 and 1999 with a promised interest rate of 120 percent per year.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, Shirrell used the money for his own benefit rather than buying the Treasury notes he had claimed were part of his investment strategy.

Shirrell graduated from University High School in Cape Girardeau and in 1979 graduated from Southeast Missouri State University.

Assistant federal prosecutor Steve Muchnik said Friday that losing the funds "meant the difference between a comfortable retirement and a struggling retirement" for many of the victims. Some sent Shirrell as much as $400,000.

Muchnik said none of the money was invested, and the money that was returned came from investments from new investors.

Staff writer Callie Clark Miller contributed to this report.

cmiller@semissourian.com

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