Judge gives 'con man' six years in prison

CINCINNATI, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A judge in Hamilton County, Ohio, said a defendant convicted of tricking others out of $115,000 is a "con man" who will spend the next six years in prison.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman sentenced Fedel James to six years in prison after the 46-year-old man was convicted of taking part in four scams aimed at tricking average people out of their savings, The Cincinnati Enquirer said Sunday.

"You're just a con man," Ruehlman said during Thursday's sentencing.

Real estate investor Howard Jones, one of James's victims, said the scams involved the use of a fake office with fake employees, all as part of an effort to sell real estate James never owned.

"Everything looked legitimate," Jones said. "They had the office set up and people in there like they were really doing business."

"Once the transaction went through, I couldn't find him," Jones added, referring to a $52,000 payment he gave James for a property deal.

The Enquirer said Ruehlman also ordered James to pay back the money he conned from his victims as part of his conviction on four theft charges.