By TONY REID - H&R Staff Writer Herald-Review.com

Posted: Saturday, December 11, 2010 12:01 am

http://www.herald-review.com/news/local/article_76e4a2b3-4b75-54e2-a6cc-4be1071305e1.html

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PEORIA - Victims of Decatur fraudster William Huber burst into applause in a federal courtroom Friday when a judge threw the book at him, sentencing Huber to 20 years in federal prison and ordering him to pay restitution of more than $23 million.

Huber appeared at the U.S. District Court in Peoria after having pleaded guilty earlier to a charge of mail fraud. Huber also admitted to charges of money laundering and prohibited monetary transactions and was sentenced to an additional 30 years on those counts, but the sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the 20-year term for mail fraud.

Darilynn Knauss, assistant U.S. attorney, earlier described how Huber had stolen $15 million from more than 300 investors, many of them his close friends, from 1998 to 2009. He pocketed the money while claiming to run a sophisticated investment system that could beat the stock market; in reality, he traded little and used one investor's funds to pay off another while he lived like a king with fancy cars, vacations and expensive homes in Florida and California.

Knauss said the 61-year-old Huber's con was particularly offensive because not only did he steal investors' money, but he profited again by collecting costly bills for "management" charges based on bogus returns he never earned.

"He was paying himself a management fee for managing his own thievery," said Knauss. "He paid himself to steal."

Dozens of victims were packed into the courtroom, and many of them told the court of the devastation wreaked on their lives by a man they trusted and who repaid their faith by robbing them of their pensions and life savings. One widowed victim, Rita Jerger, fought back tears as she described how Huber had stolen the money her late dentist husband worked his whole life to accumulate for their golden years.

She said she and her husband had believed in Huber, never guessing he was living a lie as he flew to Europe first-class on vacations and cruised through the world of exclusive golf clubs and high rollers.

"He has been living on stolen income for 10 years," she said, looking at Huber and glancing around the courtroom at the faces of her fellow victims.

"He did that to these individuals ... knowing he was taking away their chance of a happy retirement," added Jerger, 68, who is from Decatur but now lives in Florida.

Jeff Sams of Decatur told Huber to his face that he had gradually come to terms with having his retirement stolen.

"Just so you know, I no longer fantasize about killing you or hurting you," said Sams. "At age 51, I am starting over with my retirement, and I hope you go to prison for a long time."

Huber, sitting next to his attorney and dressed in a crumpled gray suit, his shoulders hunched, stood to give a long, rambling and weepy apology to the court. He described how his 38-year marriage to his wife, Ruthann, had been a victim of his crimes, along with the respect of his children and family. Facing the victims staring intently at him, Huber said he could not be more sorry.

"To all those whose lives have been directly or indirectly damaged by my actions, I am sincerely and profoundly sorry," he said. "My words cannot possibly express the torturing nature of my remorse and my regret."

But U.S. District Judge Joe Billy McDade told Huber that "sorry" didn't get it done. He said Huber could have stopped stealing money at any time but kept right on until the Securities and Exchange Commission moved to shut down his Hubadex investment company in October 2009. McDade accused him of being too addicted to the lifestyle of the rich and famous he paid for with other people's cash.

"It's too late at this point in time for regrets, apologies and excuses," McDade said. "This is the day you pay the piper."

No one else has been charged in the case, but the judge wondered out loud how Huber's wife and adult children could have been unaware of just how their husband and father was sustaining the family's expensive lifestyle.

"How can you live daily with a person and not know what is going on?" the judge asked.

McDade said he also suspected the con man might have made some provision for his wife and children from his ill-gotten gains before his empire of deceit collapsed.

"Because I do believe he loves that family very much," the judge added before he handed down the sentence to Huber.

Previously free on his own recognizance, Huber was taken into federal custody immediately.