Eugene man gets 4 years for $750,000 in scams

Thursday, September 1, 2011

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- A Eugene man who blamed a fraud scheme on his addiction to day trading in stocks has been sentenced to four years in prison.

The Eugene Register-Guard (http://bit.ly/q5PvvC ) says 48-year-old Hussein Ali Mehdi asked a judge Wednesday to spare him from prison, saying only a sick person would do what he did.

Mehdi was accused of getting nearly $750,000 in payouts from settlement funds in 70 corporate fraud class-action suits. His lawyer says he was trying to make up for stock market losses.

Mehdi is a native of Lebanon who has a doctorate in engineering and once collaborated on wireless technology developments.

In the spring, he pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud and one count of filing a false federal tax return.

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Information from: The Register-Guard, http://www.registerguard.com