Oct. sentencing set for Conn. hedge fund adviser

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — An Oct. 30 sentencing date has been set for a former Connecticut hedge fund adviser who pleaded guilty in connection with an alleged pyramid scheme involving hundreds of millions of dollars from a pension fund for Venezuela's state oil workers.

Francisco Illarramendi, (ee'-yah-rah-MEHN'-dee), a Venezuelan-American who ran unregistered hedge funds out of offices in Stamford, pleaded guilty last year to several counts of fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice in a scheme to conceal huge losses.

The pension fund for Petroleos de Venezuela accounted for roughly 90 percent of the investment in the unregistered hedge funds.

On Tuesday in U.S. District Court, a judge also scheduled a Friday bail hearing for Illarramendi, who has been under house arrest in New Canaan.

He could face up to 70 years in prison.