HERMOSA BEACH : Man Guilty in Ad Scam Will Repay Merchants
A man convicted in a phony advertising scheme has agreed to reimburse the Hermosa Beach merchants he scammed as part of a plea bargain. Timothy Michael Reichert, 32 and last known to reside in New Jersey, was convicted on three counts of commercial burglary.
Reichert, who pleaded guilty to three counts of commercial burglary, recently completed a 60-day jail sentence. The sentence was reduced from a possible three years because Reichert agreed to reimburse his victims. At a restitution hearing April 24, Reichert was ordered to make payments of $250 a month until the merchants are reimbursed.
According to police, Reichert used two false company names, Allessandra Advertising Agency and Success Publishing, to embezzle more than $9,000 from 38 merchants.
Promising the merchants exclusive ad space on 500 vinyl telephone-book slipcovers, along with 5,000 additional advertisement flyers, he collected payments ranging from $100 to $450 for the merchandise he promised to deliver in January.
“Apparently he’s got quite a track record across this great nation of ours,” said Ken Meersand, Hermosa Beach city prosecutor. According to Meersand, Reichert has arrest records in Colorado, Virginia, New York and New Jersey for crimes ranging from advertising fraud to burglary, auto theft and petty theft.
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