EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. (AP) — A federal appeals court has refused to reduce the sentence of a southwestern Illinois man serving 20 years for duping relatives and military veterans in a $2.4 million investment scam.

The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld the December 2011 sentence of Edward Moskop of Belleville.

Moskop pleaded guilty in August 2011 to charges of mail fraud and money laundering.

Authorities say Moskop's scam affected some two dozen victims who included widows, those fighting cancer and a Nazi labor camp survivor.

Moskop carried out the scheme decades after he was barred from peddling securities.