2 East Valley men found guilty of investment fraud after scamming people out of $1.2M

PHOENIX — Two East Valley men were recently found guilty of investment fraud after scheming people out of $1.2 million, authorities said Thursday.

Jeffrey D. McHatton, 68, of Chandler, and Robert B. Sproat, 60, of Mesa, were convicted last week by a jury on 10 counts of securities fraud, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said in a press release.

A third person, 56-year-old Robert Moss of Gilbert, previously plead guilty for his involvement in the case and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

The three men from 2012 to 2014 enticed people to invest the money for the recovery of various minerals, such as diamonds and gold, from foreign countries, authorities said.

They used a religious organization as a front for the scam, which targeted several elderly victims, authorities said.

The funds were used for the men’s own personal gain, with victims only receiving minimal “interest” payments that came from others who were scammed, authorities said.

Sentencing for McHatton and Sproat will take place in September.

An investigation of the case was conducted by the FBI and the Arizona Corporation Commission.

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