Investment adviser sent to prison; forfeits nearly $3M

SARASOTA — Sarasota investment adviser Steven Zoernack was sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud.

According to a statement from the Tampa office of acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow, Zoernack was ordered to forfeit about $2.89 million in “ill-gotten gains” and to make restitution to victims in the amount of about $3.44 million. He pleaded guilty March 31.

The press release says he owned and operated investment advisory firm EquityStar Capital Management LLC and that he formed and managed multiple hedge funds through the firm.

He and co-conspirators then, according to the statement, marketed the funds to accredited investors in the U.S. and Canada from offices in Sarasota and Newport Beach, Calif., raising more than $6 million through solicitations.

The press release also says, “In marketing the funds, Zoernack failed to disclose numerous material facts about his background and the funds he was managing.” He used fund assets for his personal use, it says, and “In total, through a combination of trading losses and the misappropriation of fund assets, Zoernack lost millions of dollars of investors' money.”