A district court judge on Monday declined a plea agreement proposed by the district attorney’s office that would have dropped all felony charges against alleged scam artist Peter Frommer.
Frommer faces more than 30 fraud-related felony counts for allegedly writing bad checks and bilking investors in his telecommunications company.
The rejected plea agreement would have had Frommer plead guilty to one misdemeanor charge of writing a bad check, which carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $750 fine.
Deputy District Attorney Tony Hershey said he believed keeping Frommer out of jail was the best resolution for the case, allowing him to work, earn money and pay back everyone he owes.
“This is what is in the community’s best interest,” Hershey told Chief District Judge James Boyd.
Frommer told the judge he has developed a steady income over the last six to nine months, regaining solvency for the first time since his finances dried up in 2006 and making it possible for him to make substantial payments to the alleged victims in his case.
Originally a condition of the plea deal mandated that Frommer pay everyone back before entering a guilty plea to the lesser charge. That term of the deal was lifted yesterday. Instead, the DA’s office would give him one year to pay back his debtors in full. As of yesterday’s court appearance, Frommer still owed more than $100,000 to U.S. Bank and to one individual.
“I am trying to make the victims in this case whole,” said Hershey, noting that Frommer didn’t seem to have purposely defrauded the victims, but instead had run into a cash flow problem where he was overdrawing his bank accounts by tens of thousands of dollars.
Judge Boyd said he wanted a stiffer potential penalty for Frommer and indicated he would prefer the alleged scammer be made more accountable in the event that he does not pay his outstanding debts.
“There is little more [in the proposed plea agreement] than Mr. Frommer’s promise that he will pay this restitution in 12 months,” Judge Boyd said, rejecting the deal.
The judge also denied Frommer’s request to be allowed to travel out of the country before his next court date. His passport has been held by the sheriff’s office since his arrest.
Frommer is due back in court the afternoon of Jan. 12. The DA’s office and Frommer’s attorney, California-based Robert Koenig, hope to have a revised plea agreement at that time. Koenig was granted permission to appear by phone from California on that date, but Judge Boyd said he must appear in person for the anticipated sentencing hearing to follow.
Monday offered a rare glimmer of hope for a resolution of this case, which has been set for trial and canceled twice, and been delayed consistently since Frommer’s arrest in February 2007.
“This has been a very frustrating case for my office and for me personally,” prosecutor Hershey said at the hearing.
andrew@aspendailynews.com
