ALBANY, N.Y. — A 64-year-old Florida investment adviser who admitted bilking investors in a Ponzi scheme has been sentenced to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Arthur Strasnick, of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., also was ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution.

Strasnick pleaded guilty last September to two counts of mail fraud and one count of identity theft. He was president of Backstreet Associates Inc. from 2003 to 2006, with offices in Ormond Beach, Fla., and later in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Authorities said Strasnick admitted promising returns of 12 to 20 percent on investments but made purported interest payments from additional investor funds. He admitted forging homeowners’ signatures to obtain more than $2 million from mortgages and also pleaded guilty to illegally possessing another person’s identification.

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