An Aurora, Colorado man was sentenced Friday to 18 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $37 million restitution by United States District Judge Joel Slomsky for operating a $54 million Ponzi scheme in one of the largest green energy frauds in U.S. history. Wayde McKelvy, 59, was convicted in October 2018, after a trial of seven counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to engage in securities fraud, acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said in a press release. McKelvy and his co-conspirators ran an elaborate Ponzi scheme operating as Mantria Corporation, which received more than $54 million in fraudulently obtained new investor funds. The group promised investors huge returns, as high as 484 percent, for securities investments in supposedly profitable business ventures in real estate and green energy. In reality, Mantria, based in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, …