Recovery Scam Telemarketing
Fraud Operations Scams
Vasilios Recovers Easily From Arrests
On February
9, 2001, Postal Inspectors and other U.S. law enforcement agents
arrested Denis Morin, a manager of a large Montreal-based
telemarketing fraud operation, at Walt Disney World in Florida.
In a coordinated series of actions, Canadian law enforcement authorities
arrested 26 other people connected with the operation.
he room
allegedly operated as a recovery room, in which callers falsely
represented themselves as government officials, such as IRS and
Customs employees and judges, as well as lawyers.
Morin has
since been indicted in the District of Massachusetts on charges
of conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud. The indictment alleges
that the operation targeted principally senior citizens and other
vulnerable members of society. One of the alleged boiler room managers
arrested in Montreal, Vasilios Kolitsidas, is also a fugitive
from a federal indictment in the Middle District of Florida.
Not Pronounced Like Decent
On January
17, 2001, a federal jury returned a verdict of guilty against Serges
Jacques Descent on all counts of a 57-count indictment, charging
him with conspiracy, mail fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and
money laundering (18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957), and including the
telemarketing fraud enhancement under 18 U.S.C. § 2326.5
According
to the evidence at trial, in 1998 and 1999 Descent used bank accounts
in St. Petersburg, Florida and Canada to channel funds from victims’ checks
that were sent in response to calls from a lottery room, presumed
to be in Canada.
Victims
included 13 people in their 70s and 80s, and four of those victims
were so frail that they could not travel to testify at trial and
had their testimony taken by video deposition. Descent was scheduled
for sentencing on July 20, 2001.
A second
defendant, Vasilis Kolitsidas, was a fugitive in this case,
but was arrested in Montreal in February, 2001 in connection with
the Denis Morin arrest (see above). |
