Attorneys who expected to select a jury in the securities fraud case against Dennis Willingham waited half a day before learning the strawberry farmer wanted to change his plea.

Willingham, 46, asked a Superior Court judge Thursday morning for time to think about whether he wanted to go to trial. He had pleaded not guilty to about 40 felony counts of securities fraud and selling unqualified securities, prosecutors said.

By midafternoon, Willingham signed a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to 20 counts. The agreement was announced by prosecutors Friday morning.

Joe O'Neill, Willingham's court-appointed attorney, said "an open courtroom does have a way of solving cases."

Willingham faces a maximum of 12 years in prison under the deal he made with prosecutors. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 3.

The plea comes two months after a seven-day preliminary hearing featuring investors who said they were victimized by Willingham and his wife, Brenda, between 1998 and 2001. The two are accused of lying to investors about operations at their strawberry business in order to solicit thousands of dollars in working capital, then promising returns they knew they'd never be able to repay.

At the preliminary hearing, O'Neill noted that in several of these cases, investors dealt only with Brenda Willingham or a middleman and often never met with Dennis Willingham.

Brenda Willingham pleaded guilty to 24 felony counts in May. She was sentenced in July to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay at least $3 million in restitution for her role in misleading investors.

Prosecutor Eric Dobroth said Friday he was pleased the Willinghams accepted responsibility for their crimes. The plea agreements will save time -- prosecutors planned a six-week trial with about 40 witnesses -- and money. The agreements also mean victims won't have to testify in court. Dobroth declined to say if the agreements hinted at the strength of his case, but he called the evidence against the Willinghams "compelling."

According to Dobroth, investors believed they would make between 25 and 100 percent off their original investments with the Willinghams. The 20 victims named in the case lost $2 million in the scam, according to prosecutors.

"People were just taken in by the prospect of making this kind of money based on the Willinghams' promises," Dobroth said. "This case just seems like a textbook case of people being taken advantage of in a deal that sounded too good to be true."