About 20 years ago Mr. Phelps acted as an independent sales agent for a product I manufactured. He made wholesale sales of the product, collected payments from retailers, and remitted the money to me, less his commission.
There came a time when his payments to me stopped coming, with him claiming that the retailers (which were major companies) weren't paying him. As it turned out, he was getting paid, but keeping all the money. I got a $10,000 judgment against him, but he never paid. I too found out that his Del Mar address was a private mail box, but I believe that he did live in Del Mar. At one time I staked out the box and tried to follow him when he picked up a dummy package of frozen steaks I had sent in order to draw him out, but he gave me the slip in the hills of Del Mar. (Hope you enjoyed the old phone books, Russ!) I believe that all his assets were held in the name of his wife, so I didn't devote more energy to try to recover my money. Ultimately I turned the claim over to a collection agency but they have been unsuccessful. However, they did tell me that in 2006 Mr. Phelps was convicted of possession of over 1,000 lbs. Of marijuana with intent to resell. He was sentenced to 100 months in Federal prison and four years supervised release, including regular drug tests, after his release.
This is the complaint, Case 3:05-cr-02243-IEG Document 1 Filed 12/05. There's a very interesting account of a car chase and his arrest. The judgment is Case 3:05-cr-02243-IEG Document 99 Filed 07/26, both are from the United States District Court, Southern District of California
Anyone having concerns about Mr. Phelps today might want to find out whether his activities violate the terms of his imprisonment and/or release. He's a talented copywriter, and I'm for the legalization of marijuana, but he deserves to be in jail for ripping me off.
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