Montana man convicted of bilking investors of $2M

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — A northwestern Montana man has been convicted of stealing nearly $2 million from investors.

John "Kevin" Moore of Bigfork was convicted on Aug. 3. of 11 counts of wire fraud, nine counts of money laundering and one count of making false statements to federal agents after a five-day federal trial in Great Falls. He remains jailed pending his Nov. 8 sentencing. Restitution is set at $1.9 million.

Prosecutors say Moore solicited $2.7 million from 36 investors in an oil and gas business and a fine art sales business.

State securities investigators said Moore operated a Ponzi scheme from September 2014 to July 2016 and made $886,000 in payments to investors while spending much of the rest on mortgages, vehicles and other personal expenses.

Moore has fraud convictions dating back to the 1980s.