A former Somerset County financial planner pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that caused more than $9.7 million in losses to at least 65 investors over more than a decade, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

Paul Beers, 67, of Clinton, pleaded guilty Thursday in Trenton federal court to one count of wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.

Prosecutors said Beers operated KJM Financial, a college consulting and financial planning business in Bedminster. From approximately January 2015 through November 2025, he collected more than $11 million from investors by promising to place their money in financial accounts, including guaranteed income contracts.

Instead, Beers used the money for personal and business expenses and to repay other investors, prosecutors said. He also provided fraudulent account statements and quarterly reports showing investment gains that did not exist.

In one case detailed in court documents, a New Jersey couple entrusted Beers with approximately $948,000 between June 2022 and October 2025 for retirement and their children's college expenses.

When the couple attempted to access their investments in November 2025, an insurance company could not locate their accounts. Prosecutors said Beers returned only $9,000 of the money they had entrusted to him.

The scheme unraveled in November 2025, leaving investors with combined losses exceeding $9.7 million, authorities said.

Beers faces up to 20 years in prison. His plea agreement requires him to pay restitution to victims.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 9, 2027.