Telemarketer Sentenced to Prison

The victims of his telemarketing fraud included a recent widow undergoing chemotherapy treatments for cancer and an elderly woman living on fixed income while caring for her handicapped adult children.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter sentenced Kenya Markisha Hutson, 30, of Woodland Hills to 15 years in prison, calling him a shameless “sociopath.”

It was one of the stiffest sentences meted out in recent years for telemarketing fraud, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Curtis A. Kin.

Hutson was convicted by a jury last June on 14 counts of fraud stemming from his operation of E-Med, a front company that he used to steal more than $1.3 million from investors, according to prosecutors.

Investors were told that their money would be used to refurbish and sell state-of-the-art body scanners to medical facilities nationwide, including Loma Linda University Hospital and UC Irvine Medical Center.

Instead, Hutson used nearly all of the funds to buy a luxurious home and fancy cars, the jury determined.

In pronouncing sentence, the judge said that Hutson’s testimony during the trial was “smug” and “preposterous” and amounted to obstruction of justice.

Defense attorney Michael Evans said he disagreed with the judge’s assessment of his client and plans an appeal.