Appleton man sentenced 15 years prison for Ponzi scheme

Robert Narvett of Appleton was sentenced on Wednesday, May 4 to 15 years in prison for wire fraud and money laundering. The judge also handed down another three years of supervised release. 

Narvett, 57, was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2021 and pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering on January 21, 2022. The judge found that Narvett defrauded nearly 70 different victims, including his family, friends, and neighbors of over $2 million and that he engaged in the scheme for over a decade. 

More than a dozen of Narvett’s victims spoke at the sentencing hearing Wednesday, describing the ways in which Narvett ruined their lives. Many described ruined credit scores, inability to afford basic life necessities, and having to re-enter the workforce after retiring. One victim told the judge Narvett’s fraud made her a "prisoner of my life."

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The judge described Narvett’s crime as "horrible," noting that it had the "earmarks of violent crime" because of the way it impacted Narvett’s victims. He described Narvett’s conduct as "astounding" and explained that the 15-year sentence he was imposing was necessary to provide just punishment, protect the public, and send a serious message to others that financial crimes that victimize people do not pay.

Narvett is also facing a pending civil action brought by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission regarding similar conduct.