Gonda

Gerald R. Sullivan and John Gonda were charged with nine counts of violating section 31110 of the Corporations Code (unlawful offering and selling of franchise without prior registration), nine counts of violating section 31201 of the same code (selling franchise by means of untrue statements) and nine counts of grand theft in violation of Penal Code section 487.

After a jury trial, appellants were convicted on all but counts 24 (Corp. Code, § 31201) and 26 (Pen. Code, § 487). The court granted a motion as to each appellant dismissing counts 9 (Corp. Code, § 31110), 16 (Corp. Code, § 31201), and 23 (Pen. Code, § 487) notwithstanding the jury's verdicts. The present appeal is therefore taken from judgments entered on guilty verdicts on the remaining 22 counts.

A brief recital of the factual background underlying the convictions indicates that appellants, who had had wide experience in the consulting field, met and decided in the mid-1970's to merge their respective businesses as the Logan Company (hereinafter Logan), a management consulting business with emphasis on small and medium-size firms. Advertisements were placed in the Wall Street Journal and…