A father-son team who operated a Westwood mail-order business described by authorities as "a sophisticated criminal conspiracy" were both sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for mail fraud by a Los Angeles federal court judge.
U.S. District Judge James M. Ideman said C. Scott Flewitt, 55, and his son, B. Todd Flewitt, 29, both of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, "never had any intention, from the beginning, of conducting any legitimate business." Another son, Miles, was acquitted by the same federal court jury that found his father and brother guilty of mail fraud late last year.
Beginning in March, 1983, under the name Concept Marketing International, the Flewitts contacted hundreds of people across the country offering to sell them "Success Kits," containing money-making ideas. But the company had no products and no catalogues, and customers rarely, if ever, received anything for their money, according to a federal grand jury indictment returned against the Flewitts last February.
The kits cost about $250 each, but several investors testified during the trial that they sent the Flewitts thousands of dollars.
