I hope that everyone who got ripped off by this piece of crap gets their money back. With the number of people who are after the guy it has turned into a felony. Good luck!
So what makes the difference if it is a felony or a misdemeanor??
In Texas you can spend up to one year in the Cross Bar Hotel which is not a good place to be. A felony gets you time in the Big House.
SUBCHAPTER B. ORDINARY MISDEMEANOR PUNISHMENTS
Sec. 12.21. CLASS A MISDEMEANOR. An individual adjudged guilty of a Class A misdemeanor shall be punished by:
(1) a fine not to exceed $4,000;
(2) confinement in jail for a term not to exceed one year; or
(3) both such fine and confinement.
Arizona Misdemeanor laws are a little less.
Class 1 misdemeanors carry a maximum sentence of up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Examples of class 1 misdemeanors include petty
theft (less than $1,000), simple
assault,
disorderly conduct, reckless burning, dropping objects from an overpass, and false reporting of an emergency ("swatting").
Time in the Big House.
A person convicted of a Class 5 felony in Arizona faces a presumptive term of 1 ½ years, with a minimum term of 9 months and a maximum of 2 years.
Class 5 felonies include
aggravated domestic violence, credit card theft, and stalking that causes emotional distress or fear of injury or property damage.
(Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-702, 13-2102, 13-2923, 13-3601 (2022).)
The standard sentence for a Class 6 felony is 6 to 18 months, with a presumptive sentence of 1 year. Examples of Class 6 felonies in Arizona include firearm theft,
witness tampering, and
possession of drug paraphernalia.
If you've been convicted of a Class 6 felony that didn't involve a dangerous weapon or serious injury, and the judge believes that a felony sentence would be unduly harsh under the circumstances, the judge may instead enter a judgment for a Class 1 misdemeanor conviction or put you on
probation and hold off on designating the crime as a felony or misdemeanor until you've completed probation. For these crimes that may be punished as either a felony or misdemeanor (sometimes called "wobblers"), the prosecutor may choose to charge the crime as a misdemeanor.