Daniel Meredith sentenced to 11 years in prison
Daniel Meredith, a con man The Pitch wrote about in August 2012, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Tuesday afternoon. Meredith told his victims fantastic lies to get them to invest in his schemes. His colorful scams included nonexistent land holdings in Bolivia, calls from former presidents, and a story of highjacking a plane carrying a safe that Bill Clinton sent him.
During sentencing, Assistant U.S. Prosecutor Dan Nelson and Assistant Missouri Attorney General Lauren Barrett said Meredith’s criminal history shows that the only time in his life that he wasn’t running a scam was when he was in prison. Meredith had told prosecutors that he used fraud to fuel his gambling addition. “There was never an investment, only another blackjack game,” Barrett said. She added that Meredith had blown $555,000 on gambling between 2008 and 2011. Barrett said at least two victims had lost their homes because of investments with Meredith, and at least one had filed for bankruptcy.
