Convicted Fraudster Skips Sentencing In Santa Clara County

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — A man described by prosecutors as a "serial fraudster" and "phony tech inventor" skipped town before a sentencing hearing and is now considered a fugitive in Santa Clara County.

According to the District Attorney's Office, Dennis Fountaine, 67, faced prison time after being convicted of three felony counts of fraud in May and was due to be sentenced in early August.

In that case, prosecutors said Fountaine scammed investors out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, pretending to have invented a robot named Homer that he claimed could help give medication to elderly and disabled patients.

The DA's office said Fountaine has been the subject of civil judgments for breach of contract and fraud in California and Florida and is known to create sham companies and websites to showcase fake inventions. Other tactics include creating fraudulent articles and interviews to paint him as a successful inventor to convince investors to give him loans.

In a Florida case, the DA said Fountaine secured millions in loans after creating a company that he claimed could believably insert people into videos using "face replacement technology."

Prosecutors allege his latest attempt happened this summer, where he tried to dupe another group of investors a month after his conviction.

"The man pretended he was an inventor, but he won't be able to pretend for long that he's not a wanted fugitive," said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen. "Let us know where he is so we can make sure he doesn't scam anyone else."

Anyone with information on Fountaine's whereabouts can contact the DA's office at 408-792-2420.