According to the United States Department of Justice “Telemarketing Fraud” is:
any scheme to defraud in which the persons carrying out the scheme use[s] the telephone as their primary means of communicating with prospective victims and trying to persuade them to send money to the scheme.
Arizona has a unique history with the telemarketing industry. Many of the “pioneers” of mass telemarketing started in Arizona and it was a tremendously lucrative business. However, once many of the people involved in the origination of this industry learned the business they spun off to start their own enterprizes. Some started legitimate businesses and some started illegal schemes. These fraud schemes included:
- Home Based Businesses
- Charity Schemes
- Credit-Repair Schemes
- Loan Schemes
- Credit Card Schemes
- Internet-Related Schemes
- “Business-Opportunity” Schemes
- Lottery Fraud
- Office-Supply Schemes
- Prize-Promotion Schemes
- “Recovery-Room” Schemes
- “Rip-and-Tear” Schemes
The problem is now law enforcement presumes that almost all telemarking businesses are fraud schemes. I have seen every innocent fact turned into evidence of fraud. The Arizona Attorney Generals Office handles many of these cases. In my experience many of the cases start as civil complaints. Moreover, the government may release information that the business is a scam well before a conviction is obtained. The result being that even if the business is legitimate the consumers now believe they have been defrauded. If the civil case does not resolve, then the suit may result in a criminal prosecution. Typically the individuals will be charged with Fraud Schemes and Theft.
These case are complex and and the evidence may include thousands of documents. In order to defend these cases, an attorney must actually understand the business model and inherent dangers of the this type of business. That is, many of these cases involve a person trying to develop a legitimate business, but employees making the sales calls go beyond what the business owner represents. The government may attempt to hold the business owner/manager liable for something that they had no knowledge.
If you need legal advice for a specific problem, you must consult with an Arizona Criminal Defense Attorney. For more information about Arizona Criminal Law or a specific legal problem, please contact the Koplow Law Firm online or by phone at (602) 494-3444.