Paul Stephen Young Jr., 42, was ordered to pay $527,987 in restitution to the victims of the scheme and serve three years of supervised release

Paul Stephen Young Jr., 42, was ordered to pay $527,987 in restitution to the victims of the scheme and serve three years of supervised release following the completion of his sentence.According to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Western District of North Carolina, Young owned and operated a travel agency named Sonshine Tours & Travel Inc. in Mooresville from 1997 to August 2007.Through Sonshine Tours & Travel, Young provided travel-agency services to, among others, senior citizens and church groups. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Young advertised sale of Sonshine stock to the public through mailings to clients and existing shareholders. Young falsely promised that all shareholders would receive guaranteed dividends of 8 percent a year. Young not only misled investors by claiming his business was profitable and growing when it was not, but used proceeds from the stock sale to continue to operate his failing business and pay his personal living expenses.Young has agreed to provide restitution to those affected by the fraud, including customers who paid for travel packages that they never received.Young previously entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in May to committing fraud upon investors and others in connection with the sale of securities and tax evasion for the 2005 tax year.