"Business Deals Gone Bad" Defense Lets Thief Off w/ Handslap; Some Screwed Over Scam Victims To Get 41 Cents On Dollar Restitution; Others Get Stiffed

In Kennewick, Washington, The News Tribune reports:

• A Richland real estate developer pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree theft after being accused of bilking Tri-City residents out of $380,000 they had given him for real estate investments.(1) Armen Lucius B. Weishaar, 49, could be sentenced next week in Benton County Superior Court to up to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution.

• That reflects only a portion of more than $500,000 he is accused of collecting in potentially fraudulent property dealings from people in the Tri-Cities, Western Washington and Arizona.(2) As part of a plea agreement, five Benton County theft charges against Weishaar will be dropped. He originally pleaded innocent to six counts involving two couples and four individuals.

• It's not an ideal outcome, said Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller. But it was acceptable to most of the Tri-City residents who accused Weishaar of taking their money to invest in real estate but never completing the transactions or returning the cash. [...] The guilty plea gives Weishaar a felony record, which victims wanted, Miller said. It could help protect those he might do business with in the future.

• Miller believed Kennewick police did a good job of investigating allegations and that he had "a very defensible case." But the prosecution still had to prove Weishaar made the deals with criminal intent and that they were not just business deals gone bad [aka "business deals gone bad" defense], Miller said. Neither Miller nor Weishaar's attorney, Sal Mendoza, were sure a jury wouldn't find Weishaar guilty on all charges or innocent of all charges, they said.

For the story, see Richland developer pleads guilty to $380,000 real estate scam.

(1) Some of the alleged victims dipped into retirement money or used home equity to invest with Weishaar, prosecutor Miller said.

(2) According to the story, the $80,000 in restitution will be split only among the Tri-City victims, according to the prosecutor. In addition to the $380,000 Weishaar was accused of taking in Tri-City deals, he also has been accused of taking $124,000 from people in Western Washington and Arizona, the story states. The agreement to pay restitution apparently stiffs the remaining alleged victims.