The one-time president of a Lexington-based company has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for defrauding thousands of investors nationwide out of more than $18 million.
U.S. Chief District Judge Jennifer B. Coffman on Thursday sentenced 67-year-old James Norman Turek for committing securities fraud and tax fraud. A jury convicted Turek in June.
Turek headed Plasticon International, Inc., a penny stock company. Plasticon made recycled plastic products.
Prosecutors put on evidence showing that from 2004 to 2006, Turek lured about 8,500 investors into buying Plasticon stock based on claims that Plasticon was profitable when it was losing millions of dollars.
Prosecutors also said Turek filed false tax returns for the years 2003 through 2007 by failing to report approximately $12 million that he obtained from Plasticon.
