Dallas Man Gets 20 Years in $7M Investment Scam

A Dallas businessman has been sentenced to a maximum 20 years in prison over a $7 million investment scam.

A federal judge in Dallas on Thursday afternoon sentenced 46-year-old Alan Todd May. Restitution will be decided later.

May in December 2010 pleaded guilty to mail fraud for raising the money under false pretenses.

Prosecutors say May, who's been in custody since being arrested in mid-2010 in San Francisco, used investment funds for extravagant personal spending and also to pay his relatives.

The former president of Prosper Oil & Gas Inc. claimed to own and operate leases in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and Arkansas. Investigators say more than 170 investors were scammed, including some who were told that annual returns would top 25 percent.

The company was placed into receivership.

More: U.S. Deprt. of Justice - Dallas Businessman Arrested in S.F. for Running Oil and Gas Ponzi Scheme