THOUSAND OAKS : 3-Year Prison Term Urged for Phillips

A Ventura County prosecutor on Friday urged a three-year prison term for Olen B. Phillips, a Thousand Oaks financier whose real estate empire collapsed three years ago, costing hundreds of investors millions of dollars.

Phillips, 52, named in an 81-count indictment, was convicted of only one count of grand theft after a four-month trial ended in August. But at a sentencing hearing Friday, Deputy Dist. Atty. Rebecca S. Riley urged Superior Court Judge Frederick A. Jones to consider the entire case in deciding Phillips’ sentence.

She said Phillips had abused the trust that vulnerable investors had placed in him. Riley also urged an unspecified prison term for Charles J. Francoeur, a Phillips associate who was convicted of four counts of grand theft and one count of conspiracy.

Phillips’ attorney, Steven D. Powell, urged the judge to grant probation, arguing that a prison term would cost Phillips his job as a United Air Lines pilot and prevent him from making restitution to people who had lost money.

Francoeur’s attorney, William B. Maxwell, said his client also deserves probation.

He said Francoeur never intended to defraud anyone and said a prison term would serve no purpose.

Riley countered that prison terms for both men would “send a message that this sort of theft will not go unpunished.”

Jones said he wanted time to consider probation reports--which recommend prison for both men--and other documents before pronouncing sentence. He said he plans to announce his decision Wednesday.