Feds say men scammed small business owners out of $2.5 million
Five men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Las Vegas in what authorities say was a telemarketing scheme that defrauded small business owners out of $2.5 million.
Pierre Franco-Ramos, 33, and Danny Goodman, 68, both of Las Vegas; Victor Vazquez, 31, of Henderson; Andre Jackson, 43, of North Las Vegas; and Ronald Defusco, 48, of Rhode Island all were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.
They each face additional fraud charges.
Franco-Ramos and Vazquez were arrested by FBI agents in Las Vegas Thursday morning, and the three other defendants were still at large, federal prosecutors said.
According to the indictment, from about 2009 to February 2012, the defendants and their co-conspirators convinced small business owners to give them money for services the businesspeople thought they needed to secure grant funding.
The defendants did not provide the services and used the money for their own benefit, the indictment alleges.
"Advance fee fraud schemes are common and perpetrated for the sole purpose of ripping off unsuspecting victims to enrich greedy fraudsters," Nevada U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said in announcing the indictment. "We are currently prosecuting a number of these cases in which the defendants prey on unsuspecting business owners who are seeking grants for their businesses."
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find him on Twitter: @JGermanRJ
