Fraudulent estate planner gets 25 years in prison

Two men who ran a fraudulent investment business in Hendersonville were sentenced Monday to federal prison.

Bryan Keith Noel, 41, of Hendersonville, and Alexander Klosek, 33, of Etowah, called their company Certified Estate Planners, Inc.

Noel started the business in 1999 to solicit investors and offer estate planning services geared toward retirees. He was found guilty in March 2010 of two counts of making a false oath in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding along with 25 separate counts of mail fraud and a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. In addition to a 25-year prison sentence, Noel was ordered to pay approximately $11 million in restitution.

Klosek pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and was sentenced to 7 years and three months in prison and was ordered to pay $10.5 million in restitution. 

According to court documents, the men diverted several million dollars in investor assets to a start-up lumber composite company and lied about it on quarterly statements.