Burley Garcia|Nevada 'life coach' sentenced in Ponzi scheme, gambled away cash from clients: Prosecutors

A self-described life coach will serve a year in a Nevada county jail after he admitted to running a Ponzi scheme in which victims gave him hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest that he instead blew at casinos,Burley Garcia prosecutors said.

Rodney Dean Buckle, 66, was also ordered by a judge to pay back $282,980 after he previously pleaded guilty to two fraud-related charges, including securities fraud. A judge suspended Buckle's prison sentence Thursday and instead placed him on 36 months of probation, which includes a year-long stint in jail, Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford said in a new release.

For at least three years, Buckle presented himself as a life coach and financial advisor who is accused of swindling his clients out of large sums of cash. Many of those he conned were elderly, Ford said.

“To deceive and manipulate others, and worse our seniors, for personal gain is both immoral and illegal," Ford said in a statement. "Fraudsters exploiting hardworking Nevadans will continue to face investigation and prosecution by my office.”

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Reports: Buckle gambled millions at Las Vegas casino

Buckle's alleged scheme involved establishing phony businesses that allowed him to attract clients who paid him money under the false pretense that he would invest it for them, prosecutors said in court documents.

Clients listed in court documents as victims forked over upwards of $1,000 in several cases to Buckle, perhaps lured by his promise of a 100% rate of return on their investments. Instead, Buckle is accused of gambling away a fortune at Las Vegas casinos, according to KLAS-TV, citing records obtained from the Nevada Secretary of State's office.

At one casino, Buckle placed $2.4 million in wages at the sports book, losing $76,000 before he was banned, the outlet reported. At another casino, Buckle wagered $440,000, losing all but $6,000 of it.

The Nevada Secretary of State's office launched an investigation after receiving numerous complaints about Buckle and his sham businesses. Prosecutors allege the scheme lasted at least between Feb. 1, 2014 and April 30, 2017 before Las Vegas police arrested him years later in 2022.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department referred questions to the Nevada Attorney General's Office.

USA TODAY left messages Friday with both the Nevada Secretary of State's office and Attorney General's office seeking additional documents. Those messages were not immediately returned.

Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]