"Life without Debt" schemer gets 17.5 yrs

[Demosthenes]

Man gets 17 1/2 years over Texas, Alabama scheme
© 2008 The Associated Press
Aug. 13, 2008, 3:14PM

DALLAS — A former Dallas-area man convicted on 19 counts in a pyramid investment scheme has been sentenced to 17 1/2 years in federal prison.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Dallas on Wednesday announced the sentence for 60-year-old James Ray Phipps, who operated the scam from his Colleyville home.

Prosecutors say Phipps, from 1998 to 2006, received at least $25 million from more than 30,000 participants in his "Life Without Debt" system.

Investigators say more than 90 percent of the participants lost their funds.

Phipps in 2007 was convicted of three counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering, one count of corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the IRS and three counts of income tax evasion.

Phipps was arrested in 2006 in Anniston, Ala., where prosecutors say he had moved to continue running the scheme.

[Burzmali]

Hey, wait a minute, only more than 90% of the participants lost their money? That means that almost 10% made money on this scheme! They should be giving this guy a medal, his program is far more successful than traditional MLM setups!

[Judge Roy Bean]

This guy should have been gone long ago. He was involved in the UCC nonsense and "voluntary tax" movement as well.