FAIRFIELD, Mont. (AP) - A judge has sentenced a Fairfield man to more than two years in prison after he admitted to posing as a financial services manager to steal about $720,000 from a Montana family.
Michael Lee Van Auken, 41, pleaded guilty in January to wire fraud, money laundering and filing a false tax return.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris sentenced Van Auken to 28 months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. Morris also ordered him to pay about $719,000 restitution to the family and $165,200 restitution to the IRS.
Van Auken formed business entities to hide his embezzlement from the family, offering to provide investment opportunities, file personal and business taxes and create wealth management plans, prosecutors said. He misrepresented himself to the family by saying he received a law degree and an accounting degree.
Van Auken said he would invest the family’s money into a new drill bit for oil drilling and fracking industries, but instead invested the money in foreign currency trading in an attempt to repay the funds owed, prosecutors said.
Investigators found he failed to provide the services promised and used the money for personal expenses. Investigators also discovered he owed more than $165,000 in taxes from 2013 to 2015.
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