A Norwalk accountant has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of more than $1.6 million.

James E. Neilsen was sentenced Hartford to 97 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents and statements, Neilsen was a CPA until becoming inactive in 2012. Since at least 2006, Neilsen obtained more than $1 million from numerous individuals to invest with Ulysses Partners LLC or Neilsen Financial Services. Neilsen was a partner and CFO of Ulysses Partners LLC and owned and controlled Neilsen Financial Services. He promised investors a guaranteed rate of return of 9 percent to 10.5 percent on their investment and told the customers that he would invest their money in businesses or business ventures. Instead, Neilsen used much of that money to pay back earlier investors and for his personal use.

Neilsen submitted fabricated account statements to his victims, and also sent lulling emails to multiple victims. Additionally, he stole funds from various trust and estates accounts to which he had access. Through the scheme, he defrauded investors of $1,663,641.83.

Neilsen was arrested on June 18, 2015. On Sept. 24, 2015, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He has been released on bond since his arrest and will be confined to his home on electronic monitoring until he reports to prison on March 11, 2016.

A restitution hearing will be scheduled at a later time.