PHOENIX — Phoenix police on Wednesday announced the arrest of 13 suspects in connection with a $40 million national telemarketing fraud scheme.
The case was opened in late 2014 after a 75-year-old Iowa woman was the victim of a scam that cost her thousands of dollars. The company responsible, WyzeMoney, was really a criminal enterprise masquerading as a telemarketing firm, according to police. The telemarketer had persuaded the woman her investment in WyzeMoney came with a 100 percent guarantee she’d get her money back, with no risk.
Phoenix police, the Better Business Bureau and Arizona Attorney General’s Office then found more victims by delving into other complaints. They discovered thousands of WyzeMoney victims, whose ages ranged from their late 60s into their 90s and who all lived out of state. Police estimated the victims lost a total of more than $40 million.
The fraud ring changed its name a few times, police said, and established call centers in several Maricopa County cities. The ring’s false promises and misrepresentations were designed to get victims to give them their credit card or debit card information during the phone conversation. The victims were additionally told they would receive thousands of dollars for participating in the “risk-free” scheme, such as in the following example audio call provided by the Phoenix Police Department:
The investigation continued, and in 2016 Phoenix police and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, which built the case in phases, identified and interviewed people involved in the scheme. Authorities shut down the operation and, in partnership with the Federal Trade Commission, recovered about $7 million that was then returned to the victims.
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Last month, police arrested 13 suspects in the fraud ring, four of whom police said were the operation’s top-level leaders. Margaret Cox, a Phoenix police sergeant, said the investigation is still underway and more individuals might be arrested.
The 13 arrested were:
All face several felony charges including conspiracy to commit fraudulent schemes, money laundering, theft from a vulnerable adult, illegal control of an enterprise and unlawful telephone solicitation.