former CEO of Homestore.com has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in federal prison for artificially inflating the company's ad revenue.

The former CEO of Homestore.com has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in federal prison for artificially inflating the company's ad revenue.
Prosecutors say 46-year-old Stuart Wolff was sentenced Monday in Los Angeles and ordered to begin serving his time in June.
Judge Gary A. Feess says the scheme was a "calculated deception of the public."
Wolff pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit securities fraud through "round-trip" transactions in 2001.
Homestore paid vendors for products and services that the company didn't need or use. Those vendors then returned the money to the company, which listed the funds as $60 million in phony advertising revenue.
When the scheme was revealed, the company's stock plummeted and at least 1,000 jobs were cut.