MARSHALL — A former Tracy business owner will be serving jail time and paying restitution after pleading guilty to theft by swindle charges last year. Darin Lee Horner appeared in Lyon County District Court on Tuesday for a sentencing hearing.

In August, Horner pleaded guilty to two counts of theft by swindle. Horner admitted that when he was the operator of Affordable Appliance Plus in Tracy, he took money from customers without ordering or delivering the appliances they purchased. Court documents said customers’ money was used for other purposes, including deposits to Horner’s personal account to make house payments.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office prosecuted Horner on a referral from the Lyon County Attorney.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Horner was sentenced to 27 months in prison, but that sentence was stayed for five years. Horner received up to five years of supervised probation, with conditions including that he serve a total of 364 days in jail, broken up into two segments. The first segment of jail time would start March 10, court records said. The second segment would start in January 2027.

Court records said other conditions for Horner included that he have no contact with the victims in all seven counts of criminal charges against him, and that he pay restitution to them.

Horner also received a $1,000 fine, but the court stayed $900 of the fine amount.

Additional charges of racketeering and four counts of theft by swindle were dismissed, court records said.

Court minutes said Horner spoke at the hearing. He apologized to people affected, and said he took responsibility for what happened, court records said.