If you've ever been taken in by emails from "Nigerian princes" promising big rewards for a tiny bit of your financial support, you may feel a particular empathy toward victims of con artist Craig Stevens. The Orange County man was accused early this year of selling fake In-N-Out franchises to investors in the Middle East, scamming gullible burger entrepreneurs out of a whopping $4.27 million.

Now the Los Angeles Times reports Stevens has been sentenced to "two years in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge." He'll also have "three years of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence."

Unfortunately for investors who were ready to buy into Stevens' scheme, it often costs millions of dollars to open a franchise — except, apparently, Subway. Either way, In-N-Out is privately owned, with no franchise or partnership agreements with third parties and zero plans to go public or expand nationwide. Hopefully by the time Stevens is released from prison, spam filters will be better equipped to prevent his particular brand of scam from reaching unsuspecting foreigners.