Donna Jones, 37, of Burns, was sentenced to six years in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger for her role in the Ponzi scheme masterminded by Michael J. Park of Brentwood.

Jones had faced one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. In addition to the prison term, she was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $8.2 million in restitution.

Park was sentenced late last year to eight years in prison by Trauger. The scheme he orchestrated, which operated for almost seven years until falling apart in June of 2008, resulted in the theft of more than $12 million from clients who thought they were investing in stocks and bonds but instead were funding the lifestyles of Park and Jones. While some funds were paid out to clients in order to keep the fraud going, losses in the end totaled $8.2 million.

Detailed in court Wednesday were details of how Jones spent her ill-gotten gains. Among them were more than $262,000 for home renovations in Burns, $7,000 for jewelry and almost $19,000 for custom clothes from high-end tailor Tom James.

While Jones and her attorney, Tim Potter of Dickson, tried to convince Trauger that she played a minor role in the fraud, the preponderance of evidence did not hold in her favor. Entered into testimony by the U.S. Attorney's office was grand jury testimony originally given by a woman named Lea Evans. Evans was not on hand today and the government said that they were unable to locate her.

Evans worked with Jones for Park at Park Capital Management group on two occasions. She had told the grand jury that Jones had admitted to her at some point in 2004 that fraud was taking place at the company and she was involved in it.

Park, who was brought in from the federal prison in Millington to corroborate the testimony and establish that Jones was intricately involved in the fraud, was asked to identify Evans for Trauger. He testified that Evans was a stripper he met at Déjà Vu and that he had sometimes done cocaine with her.

For his part, Park said that there was no way he could have carried out the scheme without Jones’ help.

In sentencing Jones, Trauger said that the only mitigating factors were threats made by Park against Jones and his abusive behavior towards her. In court, Potter played an audio recording of a profane tirade Park directed at Jones months before the fraud became public when he was unhappy with her job performance.

None of the victims who testified at Parks hearing were on hand at Jones' sentencing. But one notable victim was present today. Estranged since the fraud became public, Jones’ mother Martha Stinson — whose life savings were wiped out by her own daughter — spoke.

In a tearful statement to the court, Stinson expressed disappointment in her daughter and reminded her that she was raised in a loving home. She said that she chose the wrong path in life and had to make amends.

In an exclusive interview with The City Paper in April of 2009, Stinson was asked what she would say to her daughter if she could speak to her. Back then, she said, “I would hug her by the neck and say that I forgive her.”

Today was the first time mother and daughter have spoken since that interview. Stinson did what she said she would.