A former Provo resident who posed as a movie producer and bilked local residents out of more than $117,000 pleaded guilty Monday in 4th District Court to two second-degree felony charges.
David John Phillips, 51, now living in Massachusetts, was scheduled to stand trial on two counts of theft by deception, one count of communications fraud, one count of racketeering and one count of issuing a bad check. However, in a plea bargain Phillips agreed to plead guilty to one count of theft by deception and one count of communications fraud.Investigators say during October 1990 Phillips got several local residents to invest in a movie he was attempting to produce. However, Phillips spent the money for personal uses and never took action to produce the movie. As part of the plea bargain, Phillips agreed to pay full restitution to investors.
Phillips will be sentenced Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. by Judge George E. Ballif. He could be sentenced to one to 15 years in prison and fined $10,000 on each count.