A Topeka man was sentenced to federal prison for defrauding his mother out of more than $900,000.

United States Attorney for the District of Nebraska Deborah R. Gilg announced that James Allan Kappler, Jr., age 61, of Topeka, Kansas, was sentenced sentenced to 5 years, 3 months in federal prison.

Gilg says Kappler previously pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. According to Gilg, Kappler devised a scheme in which he represented to his mother that he was suffering from MRSA, a staph infection than can become terminal and is resistant to many common antibiotics. Kappler told his mother that he was involved in a study sponsored by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. He told her he needed to pay for all of his medical care and, once his treatment concluded, Pfizer would pay him $5,000,000.

He convinced his mother, 86, to provide him money to pay for his “medical care.” When Kappler’s mother’s funds were depleted, she sought more money from her sister and friends. In total, Kappler received at least $911,428.99 as part of his scheme from 2007 through 2012. The funds were wired from his mother’s trust account to an account in Topeka.

Kappler was sentenced in U.S. Court in Nebraska on Tuesday by the Honorable Laurie Smith Camp. Judge Smith Camp orderred Kappler to serve three years of supervised release when his incarceration ends, and ordered him to pay $911,428.99 in restitution.