The Internal Revenue Service announced that a former financial planner, James A. Young III of Milton, Fla., was sentenced to a 51-month federal prison term after he pled guilty to wire fraud and not filing tax returns.

According to the IRS, while Young was working as a financial planner between 2010 and 2014 he solicited money from his clients and others to invest money in false "side investments” that included real estate investments for property he did not own and investments in an oil and gas company with which he had no relationship.

As part of his scheme, the IRS said, Young presented false documents to potential investors and claimed he was personally invested in order to convince them to invest. Young raised more than half a million dollars, which went mainly for his personal use. He used some of the money to pay back other investors and fraudulently claimed the funds were returns or interest on their investments in an effort to perpetuate the scheme.

Nearly all of Young's victims were between the ages of 55 and 90, the IRS said.

"The fact that so many of his victims were elderly and vulnerable makes Young's actions particularly appalling," said U.S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe in a press statement

In addition, Young didn’t file his federal tax returns for 2012, 2013 and 2014.

As part of his sentence, Young was ordered to pay $402,207.71 in restitution to two dozen victims and $125,107.33 in restitution to the IRS for unpaid taxes.

Furthermore, the Securities and Exchange Commission barred Young from being involved in the securities industry, including associating with any broker, dealer, investment advisor or transfer agent, and participating in any penny stock offering.

This investigation was conducted by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Okaloosa County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office. This case is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Elder Justice Initiative.