Before she was sentenced to 37 months in prison, Heidi Fleiss tearfully told a federal judge she was remorseful for cheating on her taxes, laundering call-girl profits and conspiring to hide her crimes.
"I wish I had the words to tell you how very sorry I am," Fleiss said Tuesday, sobbing. "I'm so sorry. I'm a different person now. I was young. I made terrible choices and mistakes."U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall also ordered Fleiss to pay a $400 fine and an undisclosed amount on taxes, forfeit more than $550,000 from the sale of her Beverly Hills home, serve three years probation and 300 hours of community service and attend a substance abuse program.
The defense had asked for a
21/2-year sentence. Fleiss will get credit for about four to five months she has already served at a drug rehabilitation center, her attorneys said.
"When you are released from custody, hopefully you'll do many of the things you've dreamed about," Marshall told Fleiss. "I believe you'll be a positive role model for other young women just by the experiences you've had."
Fleiss wept again as the sentence was read. Her father, who served one day in prison and paid a $50,000 fine for helping hide the call-girl profits, put his arm around a family member.
Fleiss was convicted in federal court in August 1995 on eight counts of conspiracy, income-tax evasion and money laundering.
In December 1994, Fleiss was convicted on state pandering charges and sentenced to three years in prison. But last May, the conviction was overturned by a state appeals court on grounds of juror misconduct.
Fleiss' attorney Anthony Brook-lier told the Los Angeles Times that there is a "high likelihood" that his client will agree next week to a plea bargain in the state case. The deal would allow Fleiss to serve her state and federal sentences concurrently.
Prosecutors had said Fleiss laundered at least $300,000 in income from her sex business through her family's bank accounts and a $1.6 million Beverly Hills estate once owned by actor Michael Douglas.
Models-turned-prostitutes had recounted being sent around the globe to service Fleiss clients, sometimes earning $10,000 for a single assignment.
Several clients described how they would call Fleiss to arrange for sex, sometimes specifying what type of woman they wanted. Among those men was actor Charlie Sheen, who spent $53,000 in 1992.
Fleiss had been free on bail while awaiting sentencing on the federal charges. But she was ordered to undergo 90 days of drug treatment Oct. 1, 1996, after she admitted violating her bail by taking methamphetamines.