LANDIS

Fraud Conviction of Phillip Landis Upheld

In 1999, a jury convicted Phillip Reid Landis of the felony offenses of theft and deceptive practices. The District Court sentenced him to a 10-year suspended sentence on each count. Testimony in the case indicated that Phillips contracted to teach people how to grow, harvest, and market organic Reishi mushrooms for profit. Phillips also promised to buy what was produced, but failed to keep his promises and became unresponsive to inquiries. Landis appealed, but, as shown below, the Montana Supreme Court found no judicial impropriety and said that “sufficient evidence existed from which a jury could find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Landis made false and deceptive statements over a period of months to promote and procure the sale of property and services.” In recent …