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Hudsonville man sentenced in $1M fraud scheme

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SalFalko via Flickr | CC BY 3.0
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A Hudsonville man was sentenced to four years in prison this week for investment fraud.

Steven Jack Hayes was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison on Tuesday for defrauding investors of more than $1 million over a 14-year period.

The 60-year-old man was also ordered to pay $822,961.23 in restitution and another $90,806 to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. 

U.S. Attorney Patrick Miles Jr. says Hayes ran a tax and investment business from 2001 to 2015 that falsely represented returns and financial strategies. Miles says instead of investing, Hayes lived on the money he took from clients – including victim retirement accounts.

Hayes was arrested earlier this year and pleaded guilty in April to felony charges of wire fraud and filing fraudulent tax returns. 

The FBI, IRS criminal division, and the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department were among investigating agencies.

Hilary is a General Assignment and Enterprise reporter for WGVU Public Media. She joined WGVU in September 2014 after several years of experience as a local news reporter, anchor and photojournalist in Midland, Saginaw and Bay counties. She's also worked as a financial and business reporter and audio field producer.
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