An Ozark man has been sentenced in federal court for his role in a scheme that defrauded 115 investors of more than $2.8 million, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office.

Jack A. Calvin, 67, was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years and eight months in federal prison without parole. Calvin has also been ordered to pay $2.08 million in restitution to his victims.

Calvin pleaded guilty in October 2007 to securities fraud.

He admitted that, in the offer and sale of securities, he employed a scheme to obtain money by means of untrue statements of facts and engaged in business practices that operated as a fraud upon the purchaser of those securities.

Calvin was the primary promoter of Growth Benefit Systems, a sham letter of credit trading program. From January 1999 through March 2002, he offered and made material misrepresentations about the program to potential and eventual investors.

A multi-state network of at least four other individuals acting as brokers helped Calvin carry out his fraudulent offering scheme throughout the United States, the release states.

Calvin told investors that their funds would be pooled and used in a purported trading program that would yield a return of up to 20 percent per month with little or no investment risk.

Reports say Calvin also told investors that their initial investments would be guaranteed by a promissory note at 8 percent interest, payable in 13 months.

Calvin and others did not invest any of the funds in the purported trading program.

Instead, he and others spent most of the $2.8 million raised from about 115 investors and paid purported "commissions" to themselves and others who helped them perpetrate the fraud.