Man Gets Prison, Fine in Celebrity Fraud Case

A Tarzana man convicted of defrauding businesses by falsely claiming he could get celebrities Burt Reynolds, Loni Anderson and Tom Cruise to attend their events was sentenced Friday to 16 months in prison.

William Patrick Bentley, 39, was also ordered to pay $60,000 in restitution to an Ohio-based company and a charity that raises funds for widows and orphans of Los Angeles police officers killed while on duty.

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Kraut said he had entered into a plea agreement with Bentley for the 16-month sentence and restitution in exchange for the defendant admitting responsibility and pleading guilty to 11 felony counts, which carried a maximum possible sentence of eight years.

But because Bentley pleaded no contest instead, Kraut said he asked the judge to sentence Bentley to two years behind bars.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry stuck to the original deal.

Kraut said Bentley at one time worked for Burt Reynolds but was fired after the actor discovered “the guy’s a fake.”

He said the scams that led to the criminal charges include promising Suarez Corp. that Reynolds would participate in a Titanic cruise and that Anderson would appear at an event. Neither actor had agreed, and Bentley allegedly forged advance checks from the company made out in the actors’ names.

After working for the Los Angeles Police Memorial Fund, Kraut said, Bentley sold them on a proposal that included arranging for a celebrity to appear at a fund-raiser. Bentley collected $30,000 on promises of producing Cruise, live television coverage and the Goodyear blimp.

In reality, the companies and Cruise had turned down the offers, but Bentley allegedly falsified letters stating otherwise.

Kraut said the scam began to unravel when police officers called Cruise’s office to thank him for his involvement but were told the actor would be halfway around the world filming a movie on that date.