Local News in Brief : Probation in Photo Fraud
The owners of Starr Photography, a multi-branch photo studio firm, have been sentenced to three years’ probation for a fraudulent telephone sales scheme in which “free” Florida vacations were offered to hundreds of customers for purchasing 8-by-10 photos of themselves.
Stewart Shapero, 60, of Hacienda Heights and Bill K. Watkins, 28, of West Covina, who pleaded no contest to the charge in September in Los Angeles Superior Court, were also ordered to pay $5,000 each in restitution.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Julie Sergojan said the money will be put into a fund for victims, who paid $49.95 each but were not given free trips. District attorney investigator Ronald W. Santee still is trying to locate people with claims against Starr, Sergojan said.
A third defendant, Pasadena studio manager Terri Lee Giuliani, 26, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge and was placed on one year’s probation.
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