A New Jersey man and three of his businesses named as defendants in a lawsuit by the state attorney general’s office over an alleged Ponzi scheme will pay $7 million in restitution and another $220,000 in civil penalties.

A Superior Court judge ruled that James Hankins Jr., Hankins Private Client Group, The Hankins Group Ltd. and Hankins Life Settlement, defendants in the suit, are also permanently barred from the New Jersey securities industry, according to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.

Hankins Private Client Group and Hankins Life Settlement maintained offices in Manasquan, N.J. The Hankins Group Ltd. was based in Island Heights, N.J.

The judge ruled against the four defendants based on information by the New Jersey Bureau of Securities that showed they sold promissory notes to at least 101 investors with a promised rate of return between 10% and 15%. Rather than purchase the rights to the viaticals and life insurance settlement policies from beneficiaries as was told to investors, Hankins used the invested money for his own benefit.

Information indicated he spent the money on a Florida vacation home, interest in a private jet and purchases of jewelry and watches.

The judge also found that Hankins violated the state’s Uniform Securities Law by acting as an agent without being registered and by selling unregistered securities, the attorney general’s office said.

In a consent order, the Bureau of Securities’ case against Dina Hankins, Hankins’ ex-wife, named as a relief-defendant, was resolved through a settlement that included $275,000 in restitution to investors.

“Consumers must be wary of advisors who promise consistently high rates of return that are out of line with other financial investments,” New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said in a statement. “They sound too good to be true because they usually are.”