Five Canadian men have been indicted on federal fraud charges alleging they ran a million-dollar telemarketing scam that deceived elderly Southern California residents and others into paying off non-existent debts they purportedly owed from magazine subscriptions, it was announced Tuesday.
A 10-count indictment returned Friday by a Los Angeles federal grand jury alleges that the defendants, from locations in Montreal and Toronto, contacted victims throughout the United States, claiming to be calling from companies such as “Magazine Readers,” “Global Readers” and “American Reader Services.”
During those telephone calls, which were made from 2013 to September 2015, the defendants claimed that the victims — many of whom were elderly — owed money for magazine subscriptions, according to the indictment.
Participants in the scheme told victims that if they paid the amount “owed,” their purported debts would be satisfied and they would receive no future phone calls. However, victims’ personal information was collected and stored for the purposes of charging their financial accounts and for making repeated calls demanding payments, according to the indictment.
In reality, the victims did not owe the money demanded by the callers. Even when they paid, the defendants and others acting at their direction often called the victims again, sometimes repeatedly, demanding additional payments for other purported debts related to magazine subscriptions, the indictment alleges.
To further induce the victims to send money, the defendants allegedly threatened to damage their credit or bring legal action against them if they did not pay the amounts demanded.
The indictment alleges specific telephone calls between telemarketers in Canada and victims in Garden Grove, Ventura, Beverly Hills and Granada Hills.
The total losses in the case exceed $1 million, according to the indictment, which alleges conspiracy and nine counts of wire fraud.
Those charged are:
— Ahmad Eraif, 35, of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec;
— Mohamed Eraif, 37, of Pierrefonds, Quebec, who is Ahmad Eraif’s brother;
— Jonathan Massouras, 30, of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec;
— William Gampel, 29, of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec; and
— Kevin Gampel, 26, of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, who is William Gampel’s brother.
Each count in the indictment carries a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles is one of six offices participating in the Transnational Elder Fraud Strike Force, a joint law enforcement effort that brings together the resources and expertise of federal law enforcement and non-governmental organizations to combat international fraud schemes that disproportionately affect American seniors.