Local court briefs for July 11, 2000

Tuesday, July 11, 2000 | 10:58 a.m.

Pharmacy owner avoids jail time

A Florida pharmacy owner was spared prison time Monday when a U.S. District Court judge sentenced him to six months of home detention for his role in a prescription drug scam.

James Kelly, 42, also was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and serve three years probation.

Kelly pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

The charge stemmed from a scheme in which Kelly and his brother-in-law, Robert Mandella, bought prescription drugs through a Las Vegas wholesaler.

The pair misrepresented the intended use of the drugs and the number of patients they served in order to make large profits on retail sales, according to federal prosecutors.

Mandella is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.

LV man gets five years in prison

A Las Vegas man has been sentenced to five years in a federal prison for a scheme that bilked investors of $10 million.

Russell Mann, 35, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty in April to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering.

Mann and two others were charged in January with running a scheme that took money from investors nationwide. The trio sold the victims interests in a wireless cable television company that did not exist, according to federal prosecutors.

Mann was also ordered to jointly pay $10 million restitution with co-defendants Vincent Andrich and Peter Scholtes, whose cases remain pending in federal court.