A Lone Tree man who defrauded millions of dollars from a lineup of wealthy investors that included professional football players was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday.
Denver District Court Judge Ericka Englert sentenced Tyler Tysdal, 51, to the maximum possible sentence allowed through his plea agreement with prosecutors. He was sentenced to six years on each of two felony charges, to be served concurrently, followed by three years of parole.
Tysdal pleaded guilty last year to two financial crimes after he was accused of running a decade-long Ponzi scheme in which he took in about $46 million from around 77 investors, nearly all of whom lost money, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office, as well as a separate scheme in which three investors lost $500,000.
Tysdal apologized to those he defrauded during Thursday’s sentencing hearing, while also portraying himself as a victim of circumstance and pride.
“I was afraid to fail,” he said. “I hadn’t failed, I didn’t know how to fail, especially in the investment world.”
As part of the plea agreement, Tysdal also agreed to pay about $18.5 million in restitution, including $2 million before he was sentenced. Had he not paid the $2 million prior to sentencing, he would have faced up to eight years in prison, Senior Deputy District Attorney I.L. Shamsid-Deen said.
Tysdal originally faced more than 70 counts across two fraud cases; all but two charges were dismissed as part of the plea. A…
