YOUR AD HERE »

Aspen check scammer Frommer gets deferred sentence

Wyatt Haupt Jr.
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado
Peter Frommer
ALL |

ASPEN ” Check-fraud artist Peter Frommer of Aspen was given a three-year deferred sentence on Monday for writing a string of bad checks to local merchants and others in the winter of 2006-07.

Senior Judge Robert A. Brown sentenced Frommer, 34, at an afternoon hearing in Pitkin County District Court. Frommer also received three years probation and 160 hours of public service. He also must make full restitution.

“I’m expecting you to pay back every penny,” Brown said.



Frommer owes roughly $74,400 to three remaining creditors in connection with the incident. The money must be repaid within his probation period, or Frommer faces more than 20 years in prison.

Frommer told the court he “was truly sorry” for the affair. He said he came to Aspen in December 2006, with the goal of setting up an Internet service company in the Roaring Fork Valley.




Frommer said he received commitments for millions of dollars in work but never got the money. The checks he wrote were “written against expected” income, Frommer told the court.

“I believed what I was told,” he said.

The sentencing came about two months after Frommer pleaded guilty in February to a third- and fourth-degree felony and a single misdemeanor offense. The plea was part of a deal reached with the District Attorney’s Office in Aspen.

The felony counts are deferred, meaning the conviction will not go on Frommer’s record provided he completes the terms of probation. The misdemeanor will stand permanently.

The third-degree felony is theft of $15,000 or more. The fourth-degree count is theft of $5,000 to $15,000. The misdemeanor is a class three offense of fraud by check of $100-$500.

Frommer was arrested in February 2007, and was subsequently charged with more than 30 felony counts of fraud. He was accused of writing an estimated $160,000 to $170,000 in bad checks.

Frommer said he has since repaid close to $100,000. He will be allowed to travel as part of his probation guidelines but must secure approval for certain trips.

whaupt@aspentimes.com

News


See more