FBI raid shuts down phone firm

Cathy Scott

Friday, June 14, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Two Las Vegas telemarketing offices were closed and several employees taken into custody after an FBI raid.

The employees were not charged with telemarketing offenses after the raids Thursday. They were arrested on outstanding warrants for other offenses, said FBI special agent Paul Clayton.

The raids, prompted by alleged failure to register with the state, took place at two offices of Publishers Mailing Bureau -- one in the 3000 block of East Flamingo Avenue and the other at 4460 W. Hacienda Ave.

Until recently, the Nevada attorney general's office did not criminally prosecute telemarketers or their employers for failing to register.

But last month, federal agents raided the Las Vegas telemarketing firm United States Publishing Inc. on East Tropicana Avenue and arrested and charged 37 people for failing to get properly licensed.

A federal telemarketing task force is continuing its investigation of Publishers Mailing Bureau, Clayton said.

Telephone salesmen are required by law to register with the state Consumer Affairs Division, a step that involves filling out paperwork and paying a $100 fee. Businesses must pay a $6,000 registration fee.

The law, passed in 1989 and amended in 1993, makes failing to register a felony punishable by a maximum four years in prison and a $50,000 fine.