2 convicted of wire fraud sentenced to prison

CHICAGO (AP) - Two people have been sentenced in Chicago to prison for engaging in an investment scheme which allegedly swindled some 70 investors out of more than $30 million.

Gail Howard of Springdale, Arkansas was sentenced Friday to seven years in prison, while co-defendant James Jedynak of Hemlock, Michigan received a 6-1/2-year sentence. The 63-year-old Howard and 40-year-old Jedynak were found guilty in June 2013 of wire fraud.

Prosecutors accused the pair of being the top officers of Unified World Transport LLC, a voice-over-Internet communications company based in Santa Monica, California. Between 2003 and 2007, Howard and Jedynak raised about $30 million by selling equity shares to investors, much of it spent on themselves.

Howard and Jedynak were ordered to pay $30.27 million in restitution by U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr.