Karen P. Bowie (Credit: Collin County DA)

McKINNEY (CBSDFW.COM) - A 61-year-old woman living in Maine was sentenced to 80 years in prison for operating a Ponzi scheme through a wealth management firm in Plano.

Karen P. Bowie, 61, was a partner in Titan Wealth management LLC of Plano. The Collin County District Attorney says she was part of a “scheme selling fictitious high-yielding ‘European Mid- Term Notes’ that were represented to have been issued by European Banks.”

Bowie stole at least $4.7 million from investors in Titan Wealth and used a portion of the money to purchase a coastal home in Maine.

Thomas Lester Irby II, a Frisco-based money manager, was the primary owner of the firm. According to prosecutors, he promised investors short-term returns of between 10 and 50 percent on the notes. Instead, investor funds were used to pay his personal expenses and were diverted to pay earlier investors.

Bowie avoided direct contact with investors, but encouraged Irby to make false statements to their clients.

Irby was sentenced to 24 years in prison in December 2012 on a charge of money laundering. Bowie was convicted of theft over $200,000, a first degree felony.

Titan Wealth was shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2009.

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