If you should happen to get an email offering you the chance to own an In-N-Out franchise, you best just go ahead and mark it as spam.
A Newport Beach man is headed to the clink after being sentenced Monday to two years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge in connection with a multimillion-dollar scheme to peddle bogus In-N-Out Burger franchises in the Middle East, reports the LA Times.
Stevens, according to prosecutors, was using email to sell In-N-Out franchises to investors in the middle east for the low, low fee of only $150,000. If that sum seems like a deal too good to be true for an In-N-Out, it is – as In-N-Out is a privately owned company that does not offer any franchising opportunities.
While anyone could learn this information in 3 seconds on the internet, about 10 investors were apparently just too busy to do that – and Stevens was able to scam almost $4.3 million from 10 investors.
Stevens entered his guilty plea on June 29 and will begin his prison term in (and not out) of prison in January 2016.