Former Ozark man sentenced for million-dollar fraud

A former Ozark resident was sentenced in federal court for a $1.1 million investment fraud scheme.

Steven Gwin, 68, was sentenced June 21 to nine years in federal prison without parole and ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution to victims of his scheme - which targeted senior citizens' retirement savings, according to a news release from the office of Tammy Dickinson, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Gwin pleaded guilty in August to mail fraud and money laundering. Prior to his April 2012 arrest in Arizona, he had spent time in Guatemala using several aliases and Social Security numbers. He has been in federal custody since.

From Aug. 17, 2005, to March 14, 2007, Gwin admitted he solicited and obtained funds from individuals seeking retirement investments. He conducted seminars for individuals - many who were elderly - in Missouri and Arkansas to promote investment programs, the release said.

Saying he would invest their retirement funds in secure, interest-earning investments, Gwin directed investors to establish individual retirement accounts through Waco, Texas-based Sterling Trust Co. After these IRA accounts were funded, Gwin transferred monies to purchase unsecured notes issued by First Nevada Marketing Inc., a Missouri corporation he operated. A portion of the funds were spent on personal items, leaving investors with losses, according to the release.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall Eggert and was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.