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COO of Westbury Body Armor Firm Gets 7 Years for Fraud

The former chief operating officer of a Westbury-based body armor supply company was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison following her $200 million fraud conviction four years ago.

Sandra Hatfield and her boss, David Brooks, the founder of DHB Industries, were convicted in September 2010 of securities fraud, insider trading, conspiracy and obstruction of justice after prosecutors argued that the pair artificially-inflated the company’s stock and looted the business for personal gain. Hatfield also pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return.

The 60-year-old from LaFollette, Tennessee was also ordered to forfeit approximately $1.8 million in illicit profits.

DHB supplied body armor to the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies. Hatfield resigned in November 2005 and Brooks was removed as CEO in 2006. The company later relocated to Florida and was renamed Point Blank Solutions, Inc. Trading on the American Stock Exchange was suspended in May 2006 when the scheme became public.

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch said in a statement that “rather than honor the bravery of those who donned DHB’s products, Hatfield preyed upon investors, lied to them, and looted the company.”

Prosectors characterized Hatfield as a liar who not only filed a false tax return, but also misled the Security and Exchanges Commission when they came knocking.

Brooks was sentenced last August to 17 years in prison for what prosecutors called his “leadership role” in the fraud.