A kid was imprisoned for years because he stole a backpack. Elegant Elliot stole millions, is still on the grift and remains free.

MAN SENTENCED FOR DEFRAUDING 18 BUSINESSES By BARBARA WALSH and Staff Writer South Florida Sun-Sentinel

November 29, 1989

Elliott Keith Offen, who prosecutors say could steal thousands of dollars from companies with a roll of quarters, was sentenced on Tuesday to 14 years in prison.

Offen, 38, who used dozens of personalities and voices to steal at least $30 million from businesses across the country, pleaded guilty to the charges on Tuesday in Broward Circuit Court.

Broward Circuit Judge J. Leonard Fleet sentenced Offen to 14 years in prison, followed by two years' house arrest, and five years' probation for racketeering, organized fraud, grand theft and perjury.

Fleet admonished Offen for trying to con the judicial system with unnecessary delays during the past 14 months that Offen has been in Broward County Jail, and for contributing to South Florida's reputation as home to confidence-game artists.

"You and your kind have caused Dade and Broward to become the fraud capital of this country," Fleet said. "You could have become a true American dream. Instead you became a true American nightmare."

Police describe Offen, who lived in Hallandale, as a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a master swindler on the phone one moment and violent the next. He operated a series of "bust-outs" in South Florida between 1984 and 1985, defrauding 18 companies of $1.8 million.

A "bust-out" is a scheme in which a company buys goods on credit, and then claims it cannot pay for them. The goods are then resold at a profit.

A warrant for Offen's arrest was issued in 1985 in Broward County. He fled the area and eluded Florida authorities for three years. Authorities said he continued to cheat businesses until New York City police Lt. John Kelly caught him in a Manhattan phone booth trying to swindle General Electric out of $100,000 in light bulbs. Offen still faces grand-theft charges in New York.

Using a pay phone, Offen persuaded retailers throughout the country to send him thousands of dollars worth of merchandise on credit, Assistant State Attorney Kent Neal said. He warehoused the goods in Broward and Dade counties and later resold the items -- everything from shoes to pocketbooks, light bulbs and leotards -- without paying for them.