A Pella man faces federal prison time for his role in a fraud scheme committed over several years. Mark Alan Blankespoor was sentenced to 80 months of prison by United States District Court Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger for wire fraud on Friday, according to United States Attorney Marc Krickbaum. Blankespoor was ordered by the Court to serve three years of supervised release following the prison term. Additionally, he must pay $8,464,103 in restitution to over 100 victims. The defendant pleaded guilty to wire fraud in June of this year. According to court documents, Blankespoor was a health coach and consultant in Pella and represented to others he was involved in developing medically-oriented gyms and licensed the program to fitness clinics across the United States. For more than four years, Blankespoor represented to investors they had an opportunity to make money by investing in the medically-oriented gym concept. At least 100 investors provided Blankespoor with approximately $15 million in investment funds. Blankespoor admitted he used the investors’ money for unauthorized purposes that were not for the benefit of the investors. He used the money, unbeknownst to the victims, for his personal expenses and paying other investors to further the scheme. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated this matter. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa. KNIA/KRLS reached out to Blankespoor’s attorney for a statement in June after the guilty plea, and Attorney Guy Cook sent the following then:

“Mark Blankespoor is a respected physical therapist, certified health coach, and successful businessman. He has been so for more than twenty years. Blankespoor plead guilty to one count of fraud of a 24 count indictment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Celeste Bremer. He did so to accept responsibility for his actions and an investment effort that failed. The plea follows an agreement reached with the government.”