United States Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Sioux Falls, South Dakota man convicted of 26 felony fraud charges was sentenced on May 19, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.

Randal Kent Hansen, age 66, was sentenced to 108 months in custody, three years of supervised release, and a $2,600 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution of an amount to be determined will be decided in the next 10 days.

Hansen was indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and also wire fraud and mail fraud by a federal grand jury on May 8, 2013. On January 22, 2014, a federal jury found him guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and 21 counts of mail fraud.

The case involved the investigation of a hedge fund known as RAHFCO Funds, Limited Partnership, and RAHFCO Growth Fund, Limited Partnership. As president of the fund, Randy Hansen collected money from over a hundred investors that totaled over $20 million. Investors were told that only a small portion of the money would be used to make trades on the futures market for the S&P 500, that the rest was securely invested in government securities, and that they could withdraw funds at will. The fund operated from 2007 until April 2011, when one of Hansen’s co-conspirators turned himself into authorities. The investigation revealed that the fund was operating in a Ponzi-like fashion, with new investor money being used to pay off existing investors seeking to withdraw funds. Ultimately, investor losses have exceeded $18 million.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.

Hansen is to self-surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service in June 2014 to begin serving his sentence.