Troy Wragg admitted he schemed to take people's retirement funds and lied to them by saying they would make a 50% profit if they gave him their money.
Prosecutors say Wragg, along with Amanda Knorr and Wayde McKelvy, started a fake company called Mantria to defraud people of their retirement money and "coach" others into taking out home equity and credit card loans, leaving many victims in a financial mess.
The Ponzi scheme ran from 2005 to 2009.
When Wragg was first indicted and was out on bail, he started a second scheme, prosecutors say, making up a fake video dating company he called LUVR, and selling it to a victim as an investment, saying it was going to be purchased by a well-known internet entrepreneur.
A judge sentenced 37-year-old Wragg to 22 years in prison for both schemes, and he must pay back $54 million to the victims.
Knorr was sent to prison in April for nearly two years for her role, and McKelvy hasn't yet been sentenced.