EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A 69-year-old California man who swindled more than 100 people out of nearly $19 million has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
Most of the victims were elderly and retired residents of the Oregon coastal town of Florence.
U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan sentenced Louis J. Borstelmann of Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Tuesday in Eugene, ordering him to repay his victims upon his release at a minimum rate of $200 per month. Borstelmann previously forfeited $100,000 and a Lexus SUV.
He pleaded guilty in March to mail fraud and money laundering.
Through his company, Sunburst Associates Inc., he falsely promised high rates of return and a security interest in property. He has admitted the alleged investments never existed and it was all a Ponzi scheme, in which he used new investor money to pay older investment obligations.
