Salem Man Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding Octogenarian

Salem resident Paul Gierten was sentenced Friday to 15 months in prison on his federal fraud conviction. The court also ordered Gierten to pay $38,300 in restitution to the victim of his crime.

Gierten pled guilty in April. Gierten's conviction relates to his former employment as an investment advisor in Centralia. The victim of Gierten's crime was one of Gierten's clients. The victim is a military veteran who is in his 80s. In August of 2009, Gierten falsely told the victim he had an investment opportunity with a business that assisted military veterans. Because he is a veteran, the victim agreed to invest with the business. From August 2009 through March 2011, the victim provided a total of $39,000 to Gierten for investment in the company. Gierten did not invest the victim's funds as promised. Instead, Gierten used the victim's funds for his own personal expenses and to pay operating expenses of his own business.