David McCaffrey, a businessman from Wayzata, was sentenced Thursday to two-and-a-half years in prison for defrauding investors out of $8 million.

The sentence, which was handed down in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis by Judge Patrick J. Schiltz, also includes three years of supervised release.

McCaffrey was charged in April for one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of tax evasion in connection to the fraud. He pleaded guilty in May.

According to court documents, McCaffrey devised a scheme to fraudulently obtain $8 million in financing for his company, ConServe Corporation.

McCaffrey executed the scheme between October 2004 and February 2007 and defrauded Wayzata-based Carlton Financial Corporation and its subsidiary, Casco, LLC, during that period.

The scheme included a $700,000 wire transfer in 2005 from an account under Casco, LLC, at Home Federal Bank in Rochester to a ConServe account at Bremer Bank in South St. Paul.

McCaffrey admitted that he defrauded investors by misleading them into making investments on electricity sub-metering equipment installation projects that didn't exist.

ConServe Corporation provided electricity sub-metering services. It was based in Hopkins.

McCaffrey also admitted to tax evasion related to his 2007 tax return. He claimed a taxable income of $34,858 for he and his wife, when the actual taxable income was more than $100,000.