Del. Man Must Repay $20 Million, Serve 15 Years

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A federal Baltimore judge has sentenced a Delaware man convicted of defrauding more than two dozen investors and evading taxes to 15 years in prison and ordered him to pay nearly $20 million in restitution.

Forty-five-year-old Patrick Belzner of Selbyville was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors say Belzner and associates across the country defrauded 26 investors through a fraudulent scheme, promising to pay lenders substantial fees or interest for loaning them money for real estate projects.

More