Spokane Developer Sentenced For Bizarre Scam

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – A prominent Spokane real estate developer has been sentenced to one year of home confinement and a $60,000 fine involving a bizarre scheme in which people smashed motor vehicles into each other to defraud insurance companies.

Richard Ronald Wells was also sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation as part of the multi-state scheme with numerous defendants.

Wells pleaded guilty last April to six counts of mail fraud, one count of money laundering and other crimes.

Each crime carried the possibility of 10 to 20 years in prison.

But Wells did not receive any jail time.