Chicago Trader Who Stole $1.7M From Clients Gets 5 Years In Prison

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CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago trader who mismanaged more than $1.7 million of his clients' money was sentenced to more than five years in prison on Wednesday.

Randall Rye, 26, owned Faster Than Light Trading, LLC and told his clients he could get them substantial profits on their investments thanks to his proprietary trading program, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

There was no proprietary trading program. Instead, Rye pocketed the money and sent his investors false account statements showing that their funds had been invested and were making profits, prosecutors said. He often spent the money given to him by investors soon after they invested with him.

Rye, of Chicago, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a count of wire fraud, prosecutors said. He was sentenced to 70-months in prison by Judge Ronald A. Guzman in federal court in Chicago.