(AP) – An Independence man has been sentenced to nearly four years in prison for an investment fraud that cost 13 victims about $724,000.

Sixty-seven-year-old Richard J. Gumerman was sentenced Tuesday to three years and 10 months in federal prison without parole. He was also ordered to pay $722,326 in restitution.

Gumerman pleaded guilty in July to one count of mail fraud and one count of filing a false income tax return. He admitted that he used investor funds for personal living expenses and other costs, including giving money to Hooters’ restaurant waitresses. Federal prosecutors say the scheme lasted from 2007 to December 2011. Gumerman did business as Gumerman Trading Company.

He also admitted that he filed a fraudulent tax return in April 2011.