Investment firm has paid out $2.65M

STERLING - For 10 years, Judith A. Kness of Chadwick invested money with broker Nevin J. Gillette. Kness invested a small amount, and Gillette promised a large return. At first, he made good on his promise. Then he made it difficult for Kness to withdraw money from her accounts. "That was the tipoff," she said. Gillette, 47, of Sterling, formerly an independent broker with ING, was sentenced last year to 11 years in federal prison for mail and wire fraud. He had taken $7.2 million from more than 50 investors. Within the last month, ING has paid $2.65 million to 31 of the 37 people who sued the company and Gillette in Whiteside County Circuit Court, according to a news release from Andrew Stoltmann, an attorney for the plaintiffs. They had s