12 arrested in telemarketing scam

Cathy Scott

Tuesday, Dec. 10, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The FBI has arrested 12 former and current Las Vegas residents in a telemarketing scam that used a "mystery pitch" to lure money from elderly people.

As part of an FBI undercover operation called Operation Senior Sentinel, the 12 were indicted by a San Diego grand jury Monday on 31 counts of conspiracy and wire fraud.

Telephone solicitors from a Las Vegas telemarketing business defrauded senior citizens across the United States by leading them to believe they would receive a "substantial award" of money, the indictment said. The victims ranged in age from 65 to 93.

A San Diego federal grand jury returned the indictment against David Ramos, 36, an owner of the now-closed International Marketing, and his co-defendants. The Las Vegas telemarketing firm ceased operations after a federal search warrant was served on Nov. 30, 1995.

The indictment charges that between 1992 and 1995, Ramos was co-owner of International Marketing, whose main office was at 4645 S. Procyon Ave. in Las Vegas.

The victims were informed they had been selected by International Marketing as the "National Award Winner" or "Top Executive Level Award winner" and would receive a valuable award.

Telephone solicitors allegedly gave a "mystery pitch," also known as an "integrity pitch," in which they informed the victims that it would be against the law for the telemarketers to identify the nature of the award.

They were told that there was "no risk, chance or gamble" involved, the indictment states. Victims were asked to send in "hundreds or thousands of dollars" in order to register for the award and to receive relatively inexpensive merchandise, such as key rings imprinted with anti-drug slogans.

U.S. Attorney Alan Bersin said the indictments were a result of the ongoing Operation Senior Sentinel, an FBI undercover initiative targeting fraudulent telemarketing that was unveiled a year ago by Attorney General Janet Reno in Las Vegas. The operation uses volunteers from the American Association of Retired Persons to tape-record deceiving sales pitches made by telemarketers.

The initial round of Senior Sentinel-related arrests netted about 160 people in Las Vegas.

"We shall continue our efforts to bring to justice unscrupulous fraudsters who prey on our nation's most vulnerable -- the sick and elderly," Bersin said. "This type of nefarious conduct cannot be countenanced in civilized society."

Ronald Ramaglia, 54, also of Las Vegas, is alleged to have operated a sales room at 3305 W. Spring Mountain Road. Eric Riccardi, 30, and David Johnson, 24, are charged with operating another sales room at 3060 Ali Baba Lane from July to November 1995.

The indictment further charges a group of telephone solicitors, including Doug Oakley, 41, Ian Cook, 23, Shannon Puskarich, 24, Jason Mullins, 27, Matt Paratore, 25, Phillip DeNardo, 30, Joseph Marfoglia, 34, and Brian Hall, 51, all of Las Vegas. The indictment claims these defendants made interstate telephone calls in which they misled people, who typically were elderly, to induce them to send money to International Marketing.