An Albuquerque real estate executive is set to be sentenced after admitting to a Ponzi scheme that bilked 600 investors of $75 million.
A federal judge is expected to sentence Doug Vaughan on Wednesday to no more than 12 years under a plea agreement reached in December. The sentencing would wrap up a criminal case that ruined lives across eight states.
It is unclear whether the 65-year-old would be sent to a minimum-security federal prison camp for white-collar criminals or a traditional lockup with more hardened convicts.
His defense attorney says federal prosecutors reneged on two key points in the deal that would have landed him in the less restrictive environment of a prison camp.
Vaughan's victims were from New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington.