Scottsdale woman sentenced for her role in $11 million scam

The five people involved in an $11 million dollar advance-fee scam were sentenced to separate prison charges on Monday and Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said Scottsdale resident Debra Nickolas was sentenced to five years in prison for her role in the scam, which included allegations of wire fraud and money laundering, according to court documents.

The group was able to steal more than $11 million dollars by using fake companies that they claimed could secure loans for the victims' business projects if the victims paid a "refundable" deposit.

Two of these victims were from Arizona, according to prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Neil Wake sentenced the other four defendants as well, including business man Steven Brewer of Dallas, Texas, to more than 15 years in prison; Joel Cutulle, a bodybuilder from Middleton, Mass., to nine years; Kenny Kirby of Corinth, Texas, to five years; and David Rachel of Mableton, Ga., to three years, according to officials.

The deposits were supposed to be held in an attorney's escrow account until the victims' loans were funded, prosecutors said. Kirby and Rachel, who were both working as attorneys, then transferred the victims money to themselves and the other conspirators and spent the money on cars, luxury vacations, and other personal items, according to prosecutors.

The defendants concealed the fraud by providing false bank documents and other false assurances to convince victims that the business was legitimate, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. In reality, the defendants never actually funded any business loans and the victims never received any of their money back, officials said.

You can read a previous article in which the defendants deny their involvement in the scam and how they actually spent their millions here.