LOS ANGELES (CN) - Two brothers and a woman who lives with them were sentenced Monday to long prison terms for a Ponzi scheme that cost victims more than $27 million.
The trio shared a house in Ventura and bilked people by claiming they would use their money to buy "Ad Toppers," a video gizmo to display ads on ATM machines and vending machines.
Alan G. Flesher, 65, the leader of the scam, was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison: 17½ years.
Wayne D. Flesher, 62, was sentenced to 6 years.
Nancy Carol Khalial, 65, was sentenced to 4 years.
They were also ordered to pay a total of $27.4 million in restitution.
They all pleaded guilty in July 2012 to 17 counts of mail fraud.
They ran the Ponzi scheme through Oxnard companies called Unlimited Cash, and Douglas Network Enterprises.
They scooped up $41 million from investors 2001 to 2005 but didn't actually most of the Ad Toppers, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
"In other words, defendants sold nonexistent ATMs and Ad Toppers and paid the later investors with the funds from the earlier investors," prosecutors said in a statement.
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