Stillwater, Okla. ? A Payne County jury found a former travel agency owner guilty Friday of swindling more than $900,000 from several prominent Guthrie residents and Wichita State University baseball coach Gene Stephenson.

Jack A. Logsdon, 61, was convicted of 16 felony counts. The jury recommended Logsdon serve 29 years in prison and pay $50,000 in fines. Formal sentencing was set for Nov. 13, and Logsdon’s bail was set at $100,000.

“I feel somewhat vindicated,” said former Guthrie Mayor Jon Gumerson, among the people whom Logsdon swindled.

Logsdon’s attorney, Mack Martin, said it was a “strong possibility” the verdict would be appealed.

Testimony during the trial indicated that Logsdon swindled longtime friends using scams involving cattle, land and property transactions. The jurors were told the cattle purportedly sold by Logsdon didn’t exist.

“He was selling blue sky,” Assistant Attorney General Charles Rogers said during his closing arguments. “That’s the way confidence games work, and that’s what this was.”

State Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s office handled the prosecution of the case.

Stephenson has been Wichita State’s coach for 30 years and guided the Shockers to a national championship in 1989. During the trial, Stephenson, who grew up in Guthrie, said Logsdon talked him into joint cattle and land transactions, saying “he thought it would be fun.” Stephenson said he was bilked out of at least $285,000.