A Boston-area hedge fund manager was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for running a multimillion-dollar Ponzi scheme.

Raymond K. Montoya, 70, of Allston, was sentenced to 175 months in prison, three years of supervised release and restitution to be determined at a later date. Montoya pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud, five counts of mail fraud and two counts of conducting an unlawful monetary transaction in October 2018.

Montoya ran a pooled investment hedge fund in Boston called RMA Strategic Opportunity Fund LLC between 2009 and June 2017. Montoya falsely told his investors – including his family, friends and acquaintances who resided in Massachusetts, Ohio and California – that the fund was earning substantial returns, when in fact it was sustaining substantial losses by 2014.

The investors transferred millions of dollars of their personal savings and 401(k) retirement plans to Montoya and the RMA Fund. Montoya told the investors that he would invest their money in stocks and bonds, but he actually invested only a portion of their money, while diverting the rest – totaling millions of dollars – to business and personal bank accounts. Montoya used the diverted money for personal expenses such as luxury vehicles and the mortgage on his son’s residence.

Montoya was previously charged with securities fraud in a civil complaint by the Massachusetts Securities Division.