Man Sentenced in Swindle Involving Fake IBM Stock

A phony stockbroker described by a judge as “a classic con man” was sentenced Wednesday to five years probation and ordered to repay $37,500 he swindled from five Antelope Valley residents by selling them fake IBM stock certificates.

Jonathan G. Guccione, 29, of Redondo Beach, who had pleaded no contest to a felony grand theft charge in August, also was sentenced to one year in County Jail by Lancaster Superior Court Judge Charles Peven. However, the judge ruled that Guccione had already served that time since his arrest last year.

Los Angeles County prosecutors had agreed to drop seven of eight grand theft charges that they filed last year as part of a plea bargain with Guccione. Prosecutors said Guccione had faced a maximum sentence of nine years from the original counts.

Guccione allegedly posed as a wealthy stockbroker promising his clients high returns on their money. Authorities said the certificates looked so real that they had to check with IBM to verify that they were fake.

Guccione’s attorney, Malcolm M. Guleserian of Huntington Beach, said his client has repaid $27,500 thus far and still owes $10,000 more. Under the terms of the plea bargain, Guccione must repay the remainder by next June or face three years in state prison.

Peven had harsh words for Guccione, citing a history of theft and fraud type convictions listed in his probation report. “I guess you want to spend your life in and out of jail. You’re a classic con man,” the judge said, threatening Guccione with state prison for any probation violation.

Outside court, however, Guccione and his attorney contended that most of the prior convictions listed in the court file belong to another man and have been mistakenly attributed to Guccione. He acknowledged serving two years in prison for a federal tax evasion case and a state fraud conviction.

In the latest case, Guccione was arrested in September, 1990, at his Redondo Beach residence after one of his victims filed a complaint with law enforcement authorities. He later served 292 days in County Jail awaiting trial, which when combined with credit for good behavior, satisfied his one-year sentence.

However, Guccione still faces six felony counts in a separate criminal case in Orange County where prosecutors allege that he engaged in a similar scam. A preliminary hearing in that case was scheduled for today in West Orange County Municipal Court.