The Region - News from Aug. 15, 1986

Russell A. Phipps, a former Long Beach stockbroker, pleaded guilty during the fourth week of his Los Angeles federal jury trial to charges of defrauding five of his customers, three of them elderly widows, out of approximately $440,000. Assistant U.S. Atty. James Asperger said the trial ended abruptly when Phipps admitted under questioning that he lied to the jury about the funds that were available to pay back investors. In a scheme operated between December, 1980, and January, 1984, the government had charged Phipps, 44, of Hillsborough, with using the five individuals’ funds for his own financial gain rather than placing the cash into legitimate investments. U.S. District Judge J. Spencer Letts ordered Phipps held without bail pending sentencing.