"We have to do it. I know I sound like the villain of all times, but I have to do it," said 89-year-old Lucius Foster, who is the estranged father of actress Jody Foster.
Foster represented himself in a housing scam case. He told the judge that an old man would be a burden in the jail system and asked for a light sentence.
Then he launched into the very sales pitch for non-existent homes that landed him in trouble, houses made from shipping containers, similar to those seen in his ad.
"We intend to build a house and we intend not to sell it until it is finished," he said.
Foster's 21 victims say they were desperate for affordable housing. According to the city attorney, Foster took $187,000, and gave the victims nothing. There are other victims who continue to come forward.
"Everything he said made sense until he was a recording and he started to repeat the same stories and not remember who we were," said victim Corrinne Unsell.
Then there was his celebrity connection as the estranged father of actress Jodie Foster.
"He started talking about how they were close and their relationship together, and then I looked it up on Wikipedia and basically he is estranged and she doesn't even really know him," said victim Jonathan Pond.
What victims want to know is what happened to their money. Foster lives in a modest apartment and according to the city attorney, he drives a "crummy" pick-up truck.
"They went to the bank, trying to see how much money was in his bank accounts and there was nothing there," said Deputy City Attorney Don Cocek.
Foster has been sentenced to five years in county jail.
"Although you claim to be trying to help the middle class, you have profoundly hurt the middle class and the lower middle class," said Judge Gregory Dohi.
