A Knoxville man who prosecutors say swindled some Chattanooga investors among others has been sentenced to serve five years in federal prison.
John Allen Morris Jr. appeared before Judge Travis McDonough.
Prosecutors said Morris initially was employed as a legitimate insurance and annuities broker with Puritan Insurance Company.
He began to experience financial troubles in late 2006 and began to sell fraudulent annuities to elderly clients, establishing a fictitious company called Pillar Management Group. He set up another fake company called Superior Leasing or Superior Insurance.
He convinced the clients to cash out legitimate annuities (some of which he had sold to them himself) and invest them with him at higher returns.
Prosecutors said he created elaborate financial documents for each client. The numbers - except for the original investment figure - were "wholly fictitious."
Multiple bank accounts were established for the fake companies. He used the money to pay off early investors in a Ponzi-like scheme, to pay personal bills, pay for items for himself and his family, and invest in his own ventures.
One company refurbished and resold vehicles. A second, called "Football Tech," was designed to train young quarterbacks at special camps.
During a search of his house on Feb. 17, 2016, items recovered included a fake OSHA certificate.
When he was interviewed, Morris said he finally ended the scheme in 2014 "because he couldn't live with himself."
Prosecutors said his first victims were ages 85 and 92. They took money out of legitimate annuities and wound up losing $70,000.
A woman age 89 had a loss of $120,000.
A couple age 80 and 73 had $800,000 in losses, plus they wound up with $22,000 in IRS tax liabilities due to the scheme.
A couple 75 and 76 lost $59,000.