Jodie Foster’s Dad To Be Sentenced For Scamming Home Buyers
Dec. 8 2011, Published 5:00 a.m. ET
By Breaking Celebrity News Staff
Jodie Foster's elderly father could be sentenced to more than 25 years in prison Thursday – one day after a jury in Van Nuys, California convicted him of deceiving property investors out of nearly $200,000.
Lucius Foster, 89, was found guilty Wednesday on 21 counts of grand theft, after taking $5,000 down-payments from 25 investors on low-cost homes that were never built; many of the victims were elderly and low-income.
Foster – who’s estranged from his two-time Oscar winning daughter - was also convicted of nine counts of operating without a contractor's license.
During closing arguments, Prosecutor Don Cocek said that not one of the homes - advertised as selling for $85,000 each - had been built.
After the verdict was announced, Judge Gregory Dohi was prepared to release Foster on his own recognizance pending sentencing until Foster told the court that he "doesn't accept" the verdict and intends to keep building houses and "give money back to all these people."