Judge orders SD software swindlers to pay $1.8M

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RAPID CITY (AP) — A federal judge has ordered two men who solicited money for a sham computer software company to repay $1.8 million to the investors they conned.

Ron Jones of Englewood, Colo., and Arland Clark of Spearfish, S.D., are both serving prison sentences for conspiracy and wire fraud. Jones got eight years in prison and Clark five.

South Dakota U.S. Attorney Brendan Johnson says many of the victims are from western South Dakota.

Jones and Clark asked people to invest in a fake computer business that sold advertising software.

Investors put in money in chunks of $10,000 to $200,000. Johnson says most of the money was put in before 2005.

Court documents say Jones spent some of the swindled money on girlfriends and two $20,000 European cruises.

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