Former Falls Church-based developer Todd Hitt, having plead guilty earlier this year to securities fraud, was sentenced by U.S. District Court for the Eastern Districts of Virginia Judge Leonie Brinkema to 6.5 years in prison today. His sentence includes being on supervised release for three years after he is released.

According to a report in the Washington Business Journal, “Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Lytle noted in his sentencing guidelines that an extraordinary restitution payment of $20 million already made by the defendant’s family was an important factor in the sentencing. Hitt’s family runs Hitt Contracting, one of the region’s largest construction companies, although Todd Hitt did not go into the family business.

According to the Journal, Lytle said in court, “Hitt’s offense is unforgiveable, a colossal Ponzi scheme.” Hitt ran his Kiddar Capital firm out of the four-story building he’d purchased at the corner of Broad and Washington Streets in downtown Falls Church until his arrest last year. 

According to the report, Bruce Matson, the court-appointed receiver liquidating Hitt’s Kiddar Capital assets, said in a letter he received “exceptional cooperation” from Hitt and his family that helped him recover “better than typical” amounts for restitution for the victims and creditors.