(AP) -- CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a $7 million Ponzi scheme.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reports that a judge on Friday sentenced Derrick Peninger to 20 years in prison.
In October, a jury found Peninger guilty of mail fraud and lying to an FBI agent.
Authorities say he impersonated a woman and told investors he owned land in Kansas that contained natural gas.
Peninger failed to appear at his original sentencing hearing in April, an absence that touched off a 10-day hunt for him before police tracked him to a business park near Charleston.
Peninger is set to serve his sentence at the same Raleigh, N.C., federal prison that houses disgraced financier Bernard Madoff and former Charleston Southern economist Al Parish.
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
