Fast food can be serious business and not just for whoever discovers your chicken nugget stuffed corpse. It’s also a realm where no-good, dirty-rotten impostors prey upon sweethearts who simply want to bring a certain brand of hamburger to their region of choice.
A California man named Craig Stevens is headed to jail following a scheme that involved phony In-N-Out franchises that were being peddled in the Middle East. The Los Angeles Times reports that the 55-year-old Newport Beach resident was sentenced to two years in federal prison with Stevens pleading guilty to a wire fraud charge.
Billed by the Los Angeles Times as a “multimillion-dollar scheme,” Stevens tried selling investors on In-N-Out franchises via the magic of electronic mail. If you wanted one of these franchises (which weren’t real), you could drop $150,000 plus royalties and get one of your own. Stevens solicited close to $4.3 million from 10 would-be burger vendors, but was tripped up thanks to a bonus licensing agreement he sent to a Lebanese investors.
Stevens appears likely to begin his prison term at the start of next year, and he will be subject to three years of supervision after he serves his time behind bars.
(via Los Angeles Times)
