A Marion, Ill., man was sentenced to five years in federal prison for scheming investors out of more than $750,000.

John Robert Hoole, 60, solicited money from investors by promising that investments were low risk and guaranteed in order to pay off personal expenses and other investors, according to the U.S. States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois.

In February, Hoole pleaded guilty to charges of mail fraud and engaging in a monetary transaction over $10,000 in criminally derived property.

Hoole’s fraudulent scheme lasted from about July 2003 to April 2008, according to federal authorities.  In addition to Hoole’s prison sentence, Judge J. Phil Gilbert ordered him to pay the $753,422 in restitution to his victims, according to an article in the Southern (Ill.) newspaper.