(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.
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Media Contacts
Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Kate Hanson: 614-466-3840
Defendant Information
| Defendant |
Plea Date/Charges |
Sentences |
| Theodore Thomas |
3-1-13; F1 (Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activities) |
Six years |
| Roger VanDoren III |
6-14-13; F1 (Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activities) |
Four years |
| Jessica Gutierrez |
7-24-2012; F2 (Conspiracy) |
Four years |
| Samuel Acevedo |
12-10-12; F2 (Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activities) |
Three years |
| Albert Smith |
8-27-2012; F2 (Engaging in a Pattern of Corrupt Activities) |
Three years |
| Michael Northcutt |
11-13-12; F3, F4 (Conspiracy, Grand Theft) |
28 months |
| Quincy Austin |
1-22-13; F4, F5 (Grand Theft and Telemarketing Fraud) |
18 months |
| Alton Kessler |
5-25-13; F3, F5 (Theft, Telemarketing Fraud) |
15 months |
| Robert “Ben” Salafia |
12-10-12; F3 (Conspiracy) |
12 months |
| Allen Cannon |
12-11-12; F4, F5 (Telecommunications Fraud, Telemarketing Fraud) |
12 months |
| Michael Sweigart |
11-13-12; F3 (Conspiracy) |
12 months |
| Chris Fregapane |
5-20-13; F3 (Telecommunications Fraud) |
9 months |
| Colin Hansford |
12-11-12; F3, F4 (Conspiracy, Telecommunications Fraud) |
6 months in a drug treatment facility |
| Ashley Green |
2-11-13; F4 (Telecommunications Fraud) |
Community Control |
| Stephen Grannan |
2-1-13; F3, F5 (Complicity to Telecommunications Fraud and Complicity to Telemarketing Fraud) |
Community Control |
| Justin Jones |
1-10-13; F3, F4 (Complicity to Telecommunications Fraud and Complicity to Grand Theft) |
Community Control |
| Kara Thomas |
12-10-12; F3, F4 (Conspiracy, Telecommunications Fraud) |
Community Control |
| Michael Perry |
12-10-12; F3 (Conspiracy) |
Community Control |