Posted on: Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Sale of phony Web sites brings three-year sentence

By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

Jason Ibara has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined $175,000 for wire fraud in connection with the sale of false Internet Web sites, federal prosecutors said yesterday.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge David A. Ezra on Monday also ordered Ibara to perform 250 hours of community service after his release from prison.

Ibara, manager of Hawai'i-based companies including Tritech2000, LLC, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud.

U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said Ibara had devised a scheme to sell phony Web sites from February to October 2000 guaranteeing the purchaser access to merchandise. He held sales meetings in Hawai'i, California and Nevada to sell Tritech2000 sites for $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 each, Kubo said. Tritech2000 raised more than $1.2 million selling contracts to more than 200 investors.

Investors also were told they would receive a return on their investment ranging from 10 to 20 percent a year, although Ibara knew that was impossible, Kubo said.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and handled by assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Osborne Jr.