The State - News from Jan. 12, 1987

A Danville man was sentenced to five years in federal prison for his part in a real estate scam that bilked more than 200 people out of $4.2 million. U.S. District Judge Eugene Lynch in San Francisco imposed the sentence, plus five years’ probation on Brian Douglas Hammer, 35. He also was ordered to pay $265,000 in restitution to investors. Hammer pleaded guilty last year to two counts of mail fraud. His partner, Alan Walter Babcock, 58, of Hayward, is scheduled to be sentenced on one count of mail fraud on Feb. 6. The two men originally were charged with 28 counts of mail fraud in connection with the now defunct Western Capital Management Co., an investment firm in San Jose. They were accused of defrauding Bay Area residents, who put as much as $50,000 each into limited partnerships, joint ventures and second mortgages on homes.