Telemarketers arrested for defrauding elderly victims of over $1M
Five suspects are in custody after a federal grand jury returned a 24-count indictment for violations of the federal mail fraud slaw and for conspiracy to violate the mail and wire fraud law in Phoenix on Tuesday, according to the Department of Justice.
The DOJ said they worked together in a telemarketing operation to defraud elderly consumers of over $1 million. Also, when speaking on the telephone with the victims, the defendants and their employees used false names and misrepresented the nature of a purported investment opportunity and the location of the business.
The defendants have been identified as Brandon Trevor Ball, 46, Trevor Wesley Gabler, 28, Gordon Lynn Hardy, 55, Jackie Nikiel Whitley, 37, and Brian Lee Gibson, 36.
“The Secret Service is committed to aggressively investigating financial crimes cases,” said Special Agent in Charge Cristina Beloud of the Secret Service Phoenix Field Office. “This case highlights our outstanding relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Phoenix Police Department. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to disrupt organized criminal groups in the state of Arizona who attempt to defraud our most vulnerable citizens.”
A conviction for mail fraud in targeting elderly victims through telemarketing carries an enhanced maximum penalty of 30 years, a $250,000 fine (or twice the value of the loss), or both imprisonment and a fine.
