Man Gets 4 Years For $3.4M Reality Show Scheme
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A nearly four-year prison sentence has been ordered for a man who posed as a Hollywood producer and fleeced investors out of $3.4 million for a phony show about the Department of Homeland Security.
A Los Angeles federal judge on Tuesday sentenced Joseph Medawar to 45 months in prison for violating probation. The Los Angeles Times says he padded his community service hours to go to movies and the gym.
Medawar pleaded guilty in May 2006 to tax evasion and conspiracy for the TV show investment scam and he was sentenced to jail for a year and community service.
The lenient sentence outraged victims and an appeals court overturned the sentence in March 2008. The Los Angeles judge ignored prison sentencing recommendations and placed Medawar on supervised probation.
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