Schrenker sentenced to 4+ years in prison

INDIANAPOLIS | As Marcus Schrenker was learning Wednesday that he'll be spending four years and three months in federal prison for a scheme to fake his own death, Indiana officials charged the Merrillville native with nine additional felonies related to financial fraud.

Judge Roger Vinson sentenced Schrenker in Pensacola, Fla., after a lengthy and rambling speech by the amateur daredevil pilot who sobbed and asked forgiveness from his family, air traffic controllers and Florida Panhandle residents.

Schrenker's single-engine Piper Malibu crashed in Milton, Fla., on Jan. 11 after he bailed out over Alabama and left the plane to drift on autopilot. He had planned for it to land in the Gulf of Mexico, but it ran out of fuel.

Back in Indiana, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Sonia Leerkamp charged Schrenker Wednesday with nine counts of fraudulent sale of securities. Schrenker allegedly defrauded his victims by selling them an unauthorized foreign currency fund, creating and maintaining false account information and using client funds for personal purposes.

Schrenker and his financial services businesses came under investigation by the Indiana Securities Division in December. Investigators later obtained a freeze on Schrenker's personal and business assets to recover as much money as possible for victims. His assets remain in receivership.

Schrenker also was charged with two securities fraud counts earlier this year.

"These new charges supplement the original charges filed in January and reflect the broader scope of Schrenker's alleged financial misdeeds that prompted this investigation," said Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, whose office investigates state securities fraud.

Each of the new charges is a felony and carries a possible sentence of two to eight years in state prison.

"We are looking forward to having Mr. Schrenker held properly accountable for his actions," said Jeffrey D. Wehmueller, deputy prosecutor for Hamilton County.

Hamilton County is north of Indianapolis.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.