Fraud 101: Part-Timer at Southern Cal Pleads Guilty to Conning Investors

A former part-time lecturer in the University of Southern California’s business school has pleaded guilty to defrauding students and their parents of $1.5-million that they gave him to invest in what he told them were real-estate ventures, the Los Angeles Times reported this morning. The lecturer, Barry Landreth, could be sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison for the felony. In the scam, he promised his “investors” that they would receive a 190-percent return in 45 days, but instead spent the money on horses, an SUV, and other luxuries.