 CANADIANS CHARGED IN TELEMARKETING SCAM,posing as representatives of the Nevada Gaming Control Board
SEVEN CANADIANS CHARGED IN TELEMARKETING SCAM
Boston, MA... Seven Canadians were charged yesterday in federal court for offenses relating to their participation in an extensive telemarketing scheme, based in Montreal, that targeted American senior citizens.
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Kenneth W. Kaiser, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New England, announced that the following individuals, all residents of Quebec, Canada, were charged: GILLES MAISONNEUVE, age 37; MITCHELL KARACHINSKY, age 62; IVAYLO MARINOV, age 26; GINO IOVANNONE, age 41; DANIEL KATONA, age 39; GLORIA KAITTING, age 41; and JAMES ROUILLARD, age 34. The defendants were charged with conspiracy and mail and wire fraud in an indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury sitting in Boston.
"This case is part of a continuing pattern of fraudulent schemes in which Canadian telemarketers prey upon our most vulnerable citizens." stated U.S. Attorney Sullivan. "We will continue to devote all the resources necessary to stop these predatory crimes. Working in concert with Canadian law enforcement officials will ensure successful prosecution of these cases. Our citizens need to be vigilant in dealing with anyone who tells them they have won money and requires them to send money, in advance, in order to claim the prize."
The indictment alleges that, during a period commencing prior to March, 2000 through June, 2003, the defendants conspired together to defraud people across the United States, including in Massachusetts, by means of a phoney telemarketing scheme. The defendants, posing as representatives of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, called prospective victims and falsely represented that the victim had won a large (often multi-million dollar) lottery or sweepstakes. However, the caller was informed that in order to collect his or her prize, taxes or other administrative fees would have to be prepaid. Victims were given specific instructions on how to wire funds to accounts designated by the telemarketers, or how to make checks payable and mailed to addresses in Canada designated by the telemarketers. Victims were instructed that they needed to maintain strict confidentiality about the supposed lottery or sweepstakes winning or risk the forfeiture of their "prize." In many cases, if a victim sent funds once, he or she would receive more telephone calls seeking additional funds, either for insurance or delivery charges or, often, with the additional ruse that the lottery prize had been increased and therefore additional taxes needed to be fronted. It is further alleged that in addition to telephone calls, some of the victims received phoney documents, on letterhead with the copied logo of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, designed to convince victims of the legitimacy of the scam. Victims were promised as much as $25,000,000 in winnings. None of the victims, located all across the United States and in Massachusetts, ever received any money.
If convicted on these charges, the defendants each face up to 20 years' imprisonment, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by members of Project Colt, a joint, cross-border task force project that combines members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Surete du Quebec, the Montreal City Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The combined efforts of the members of Project Colt are cited as an example across North America for their methods of investigating fraudulent telemarketing and their application of an integrated policing concept both locally and across borders. Last year, members of Project Colt successfully investigated and dismantled another fraudulent telemarketing operation based in Canada, also targeting senior citizens in the United States, in the prosecution United States v. Denis Morin and Mark Levine. In that scam, callers posing as government officials told American senior citizens that they had previously been victimized by a lottery scam and were now entitled to recover a large sum as a result of either a successful prosecution or settlement; however, in order to receive their recovery, they first needed to pay taxes by mailing or wiring funds to Canada. Both Morin and Levine are currently serving federal sentences of ten and thirteen years, respectively, for their roles in fraudulent telemarketing.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori J. Holik inSullivan's Economic Crimes Unit.
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BETCRIS 
08-01-2003, 01:23 PM
