LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas man will spend time behind bars for defrauding hundreds of small business owners.
On Thursday, the Justice Department said 43-year-old Michael Jones has been sentenced to 78 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Investigators said between October 2009 and February 2014, Jones convinced more than 2,100 small business owners to pay nearly $12 million as advance fees to fund expenses to apply for different government, private, and charitable grants for their businesses.
Officials said business owners paid the money in exchange for services that were never provided and that Jones and his co-defendants kept all of the money.,
Jones pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud charges and has been ordered to pay over $11.5 million in restitution and a forfeiture money judgement that's nearly $8 million.
