Wire fraud lands former tech exec in prison

TAMPA — The former head of a now-defunct tech firm that had been based in Ybor City is heading to prison for nearly seven years for his role in a wire fraud scheme.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich sentenced 57-year-old Timothy Roberts, a resident of Missouri, to six years and eight months  in a federal penitentiary for defrauding investors in Savtira Corporation Inc., which produced an online, cloud-based shopping platform.