A Molokai man convicted of $2.5 million in investment fraud in Washington state in 2005 pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to defrauding a woman of $45,000 that was used for personal expenses, an Internet girlfriend and an online strategy game.

David Buchanan, 47, faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 25.

According to court documents, Buchanan received funds from the Molokai woman, a federal retiree, in 2012 after telling her he was an expert in the field of investments and could turn her investment into $300,000. The woman gave him $40,000 from her retirement savings and forked over an additional $5,000 after Buchanan told her he needed more money to cover the taxes for her pending returns.

Buchanan told U.S. District Chief Judge Susan Oki Mollway on Thursday that he had planned to invest the money in a business.

"I didn’t follow through," he said in court. "I basically took the money and spent it on my personal uses."

FBI spokesman Tom Simon said Buchanan spent thousands on an online strategy game called "Evony." The game, in which the player acts as the mayor of a medieval town, has garnered attention for its erotic advertising that actually has little to do with game play, according to Ars Technica, a website dedicated to technology.

Buchanan also wired money to an Internet girlfriend in the Philippines and spent money on online shopping, credit card payments and personal expenses for himself and his brother.

Simon said the victim was devastated by the loss and moved to Florida to rebuild her life.

"These stories are becoming all too common in the state of Hawaii," Simon said outside the federal courthouse, adding that before investing, people should check the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs website to find out whether a person is a licensed professional in investments.

After Buchanan pleaded guilty, his lawyer, Jefferson Willard, asked Mollway to delay sentencing until after Thanksgiving because Buchanan plans to marry in June and wants to spend time with his wife. Mollway declined. A source said Buchanan’s fiancee is a Japanese national, not the girlfriend from the Philippines.

Buchanan is free on $50,000 bail.

He previously served time in a federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in Washington state. In that case, court documents said Buchanan received between $2.5 million and $5.7 million from investors between 1999 to 2004. Instead of investing the money, he spent it on personal expenses, including a lavish wedding, a golf course in Washington and expensive jewelry.

In 2005 he was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison and ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution.