January 9, 2015
Reno, NV – Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt
announced that Craig Walters, 60, of Sparks, Nev. was sentenced on Wednesday,
Jan. 7 for running a scam in which he sold advertisement space in a magazine
that did not exist.
“It is unfortunate that we need to be
continually vigilant against these types of scams,” said Attorney General
Laxalt. “Our office will continue to investigate and prosecute these
crimes to ensure consumers’ rights are protected.”
Walters was sentenced by Second Judicial
District Court Judge Scott N. Freeman to five years in the Nevada Department of
Corrections after pleading guilty to one felony count of theft. He was
also ordered to pay $5,950 in restitution. He will be eligible for parole
in two years.
Walters approached local businesses and sold
them advertising space in a magazine that was supposedly distributed at local
sporting events and tournaments. Businesses were victimized several times over
the past few years. The magazine was never produced and
distributed. When some of the victims requested to see copies of the
magazine or hesitated in renewing their ads, Walters became belligerent and, in
some instances, threatened to tell people not to patronize their
businesses.
This case was investigated by the Attorney
General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and prosecuted by Senior Deputy
Attorney General Eric Nickel of the Attorney General’s Fraud Unit.
(Photo courtesy of
the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office)
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