Final Defendant in Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
Sent to Prison
(TROY, Ohio)—Attorney General Mike DeWine and Miami County Prosecutor Anthony E. Kendell announced today that Roger VanDoren III, the last of an 18-person telemarketing fraud enterprise, was sentenced to four years in prison by Miami County Common Pleas Judge Robert Lindeman. All the defendants pleaded guilty to felony charges arising out of an Ohio-based scam that stole millions of dollars from thousands of victims in 41 states.
“We won’t tolerate scammers who steal from vulnerable citizens,” said Attorney General DeWine. “What they did was unconscionable, and now they are paying for the crimes they committed against people in Ohio and across the country.”
“Today’s sentence is the final step in taking down a massive criminal enterprise,” Miami County Prosecutor Anthony E. Kendell said. “I appreciate Attorney General DeWine’s commitment to bringing scammers to justice and look forward to continuing to work with his office.”
The scam
targeted victims, predominantly elderly, who owned inexpensive vacant land
around the country. The telemarketing enterprise called these victims and fed
them a series of lies about how their property values had increased
dramatically and eager buyers had agreed to purchase the land. Victims then were
duped into paying fees as high as $16,000 to complete a non-existent sale.
The scam
started in Ohio in 2007 and operated in several locations including Troy,
Vandalia, and Huber Heights; later, the scam expanded to additional offices in
the Tampa, Florida, area. By 2011, the enterprise had stolen more than $2.8
million dollars. In October 2011, the Attorney General’s office raided several
offices used by the enterprise in both Ohio and Florida, seizing records,
computers, and cell phones.
The
Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Unit, within the office’s Consumer Protection
Section, discovered the scheme and worked with BCI, the Miami County
Prosecutor’s Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and many other
agencies in Miami County, Clark County, Huber Heights, and Florida.
A list of the defendants and their sentences is available on the Ohio Attorney General's website.
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