Wade Timothy Garner of Seneca has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for wire fraud, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina.

Garner, 48, also was ordered to pay $309,063.74 worth of restitution, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins. Fourth Circuit Judge William B. Traxler imposed the sentence.

Since early 2006, Garner has taken various amounts of money from individuals in the Upstate saying he had access to certain no-risk, high-return investments, Wilkins said through the release. Several investors who had failed to receive profits on their investments with Garner began demanding return on their principle. Garner was unable to return the money and left the area, according to the release.

The FBI then found Garner living in a motel in Greenville. An FBI employee, posing as a rich investor, phoned Garner and asked about investment opportunities, according to the release. Garner said he had excellent, no-risk investments to make available to the caller, had always made money for his clients and never had lost any of his investors’ money.

With those misrepresentations tape recorded, the FBI arrested Garner, according to the release.

Wilkins commended FBI Special Agent Paul Jacobs’ work on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Stephens of the Greenville office prosecuted the case.