BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Former investment adviser Richard Muto pleaded guilty on Monday to two felony counts resulting from the Sweetwater Development scam. Muto pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud before Judge Penny Wolfgang in state Supreme Court.

Sentencing is set for Feb. 2.

Assistant state Attorney General Diane LaVallee said that Muto will receive a sentence of either two-to-six or four-to-12 years in jail, depending on his cooperation.

Investors and investigators believe that Muto swindled close to $19 million using a complex system of bank accounts and businesses.

Muto swayed family, friends and investors to invest thousands of dollars in promissory notes issued by the Sweetwater Development Corp.

Muto said the money would be loaned to a company that was building a housing subdivision for senior citizens in Florida, and promised returns on the investment of almost 20 percent.

Work on the development was halted by state building inspectors in early 2001, and many Sweetwater investors never recovered their money.

AP-ES-12-08-03 1649EST