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Financial Adviser Gets 25 Years In $13M Fraud

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota investment adviser has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for defrauding investors of millions of dollars.

Forty-two-year-old Sean Meadows of Eden Prairie was sentenced Friday in federal court in St. Paul. Prosecutors say Meadows used his financial planning and asset management firm, Meadows Financial Group, to operate a Ponzi scheme that stole more than $13 million from at least 100 victims.

Meadows told investors he would use their money for legitimate investments and promised high rates of return. But instead, the government says he spent the money on himself.

In court, Meadows blamed a gambling addiction and said he made "really, really awful choices."

But U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson said his apologies "don't ring true."

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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