RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who teamed up with a former college football player on a $10 million investment-fraud scheme has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Forty-six-year-old Sherman Carl Vaughn of Blackstone was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Richmond. He pleaded guilty to cheating more than 50 investors.

Vaughn and his business partner, former University of Virginia linebacker Merrill Robertson, ran the scheme through their company, Cavalier Union Investments.

Robertson used his football contacts to recruit investors over a seven-year period beginning in 2009. Vaughn passed himself off as a sophisticated philanthropist when in reality he filed for bankruptcy four times.

The pair used the money on personal expenses, including vacations and spa trips.

Robertson, who was convicted in a jury trial last year, received a 40-year sentence.