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Con man gets time in prison Bogus partnerships draw restitution also By CHRIS BRISTOL A con man who sold phony partnerships in a nonexistent Medford coffee stand was sentenced to 16 months in prison Thursday and ordered to pay more than $157,000 in restitution. "You reap what you sow," an apologetic Delbert Stephens said in a prepared statement to the court. Stephens, 41, pleaded guilty Oct. 4 to one count of racketeering and four counts of aggravated theft. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a second racketeering charge and two counts of first-degree theft. Prosecutors said Stephens conned at least six investors from the Rogue Valley and Eugene areas into buying 50 percent partnerships in a much-recycled corporation called the Espress Lane Coffee Co. None of the partners knew about each other until one of the victims went to see the investment, a coffee stand in Bend, and found that it was already owned by somebody else, prosecutors said. Another victim learned he had been taken when he tried to visit the site of his investment in Medford and found an empty lot instead, prosecutors said. Individual investments ranged from $8,000 to $25,000. Deputy District Attorney Debbie Minder said the second racketeering charge stemmed from a bogus real estate business called Equity Partners Inc. One victim bought the same property on the Oregon Coast twice. Stephens fled the area after Medford police Detective Ray Leach began poking into the case. Acting on news tips, Leach arrested Stephens in Portland, where he was employed as a yacht salesman. In addition to prison time, Jackson County Judge Ray White placed Stephens on five years of supervised probation. Among the terms, Stephens was ordered to divest himself of any business dealings and dissolve the bogus corporations Espress Lane and Equity Partners. He was also warned against starting any new businesses or filing articles of incorporation. White threatened Stephens with up to eight months in jail if he ever violates probation. Racketeering involves a documented pattern of related criminal activity, in this case multiple scams. Stephens had no prior criminal record. The state Department of Consumer and Business Services had previously warned him about selling securities without a license, according to court records. Despite his relatively clean record, Minder said Stephens would have faced a minimum sentence of 30 months in prison had he been convicted of racketeering in federal court. To date, none of the money he stole has been recovered. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA