‘Reformed’ Con Man to Plead Guilty in New Case
A Los Angeles man who was featured on network television programs as a reformed con man dedicated to fighting consumer fraud has agreed to plead guilty to new charges of telemarketing fraud, his lawyer disclosed in court Monday.
Steven Robert Comisar, 38, is expected to enter his plea next week in Los Angeles federal court on charges that he bilked a retired engineer out of $100,000 in a fraudulent investment scheme.
Defense lawyer Bernard W. Talmas made the disclosure as Comisar appeared before U.S. District Judge William J. Rea on charges of violating probation. Comisar, who is being held without bail, has been convicted three times on fraud charges.
At Talmas’ request, Rea agreed to put off any action until after Comisar is sentenced in October in the telemarketing case.
Writing under the name of Brett Champion, he authored a book, “America’s Guide to Fraud Prevention,” in 1998 and dedicated it to U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real, who had freed him on probation three times.
“You believed in me and gave me a chance,” Comisar said in the dedication. “For this, I will always be grateful and never break the law again.”
Comisar parlayed his expertise as a scam artist into appearances on “Dateline NBC,” ABC-TV’s “The View,” and Leeza Gibbons’ syndicated talk show.
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