People v. Long CA4/1

INTRODUCTION

Dennis Eugene Long was charged with 69 criminal offenses for defrauding his

friends, fellow church members, and acquaintances of tens of thousands of dollars

through an herbal supplement investment scheme. Long pleaded guilty to five counts:

one count of securities fraud with an admission it caused loss in excess of $500,000

(Corp. Code, § 25541; Pen. Code,1 § 186.11, subd. (a)(2) [white collar crime

enhancement]; count 1), three counts of grand theft of personal property, each involving

more than $950 (§ 487, subd. (a); counts 4, 7, & 22), and one count of burglary of an

inhabited dwelling (§§ 459, 460; count 10).

After hearing statements from a number of victims, the court decided it could not

abide by the stipulated sentence of seven years and offered Long the opportunity to

withdraw his guilty plea. Long chose not to do so and agreed the court could sentence

him to a term between seven and 12 years. The court sentenced him to 12 years in state

prison based upon the upper term of five years for securities fraud (count 1) with the five-

year white collar crime enhancement plus three consecutive terms of eight months each

for the grand theft counts…