CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey businessman who used false claims to bilk investors out of $1.6 million has been sentenced to 11 years in federal prison.

Forty-two-year-old Robert Sucarato of Holmdel also must pay restitution under the sentence imposed Friday.

Prosecutors say Sucarato lied about his credentials and that of his business, a capital management and financial consulting firm known as New York Financial Company.

Those lies included that his two hedge funds had been operating since 1993, that they had $7.2 billion in assets and that they had outperformed the market by a wide margin over a 10-year period.

Prosecutors say he used investors’ money for personal expenses.

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