Sean Mueller was hardly the stereotype of a slick investor as he appeared in court on Monday. The 42-year-old former hedge-fund manager wore a white, long-sleeve T-shirt under his Denver County Jail grays to plead guilty as part of an agreement that will limit his time behind bars to several decades, reports Al Lewis for The Wall Street Journal. Mueller pleaded guilty to securities fraud, theft, and violating the state's organized-crime act. Among his many victims were some of Denver's wealthiest residents, including former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway.

Though Mueller accepted some $71 million for his Greenwood Village firm over a decade, he had about $9.5 million on hand to cover an estimated $140 million in liabilities—an amount that includes gains Mueller reported to investors. He faces up to 40 years in prison when sentenced on December 6, according to the Denver Business Journal.