Man Sentenced for Precious Metals Investment Scam

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) --  A Lakeville man has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison for a precious metals investment scam that federal authorities say he ran for nearly seven years.

The U.S. attorney's office says 46-year-old David Rougier scammed more than a dozen people out of a total of about $835,000 by promising that he was using their money to buy gold and silver.

Authorities say he spent the money instead on shopping trips, travel, strip clubs, entertainment and other personal expenses.

Rougier pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison. He'll be on supervised release for three years following his prison time.