The U.S. Attorney’s Office has indicted 60 people for their involvement in a $ 300 million nationwide telemarketing fraud scheme targeted that targeted elderly victims. The defendants has detained in 14 states and two provinces of Canada. The US Department of Justice reports.
Over the past 20 years, the suspects have developed and implemented a telemarketing scheme to defraud consumers, according to the allegations. The scheme was implemented by a network of dozens of fraudulent magazine selling companies located in the United States and Canada.
– This case represents the largest elder fraud scheme in the nation. More than 150,000 elderly and vulnerable victims across the United States have been identified in what is essentially a criminal class action, – said United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald.
Many of the defendants used a fraudulent sales script in which the telemarketers falsely claimed to be calling from the victim-consumer’s existing magazine subscription company about an existing magazine subscription package. At the same time, the scammers called with a proposal to reduce the monthly cost of a magazine subscription.
In fact, victims were fraudulently signing for expensive and new magazine subscriptions without knowing it.
Moreover, the scammers contacted people who had previously fallen victim to a fraudulent magazine sales scam. Taking advantage of the victims desperation, who wanted to cancel their new subscriptions, the defendants falsely offered to cancel existing magazine subscriptions, but before that, they demanded payment of the “outstanding balance”.
In reality, the real magazine selling companies had no relationship with the victims, all the money went to the scammers.
The indictments charge defendants at all levels of the conspiracies, including Scheme Leaders, Company Owners, Call Center Managers, Telemarketers and Lead Brokers.
These fraudulent companies were operating in 14 states across the country, including Minnesota, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, California, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina and Arkansas.
