Three Arizona men have been sentenced to federal prison for a telemarketing fraud scheme that stole millions of dollars from over 1,000 victims across the country, authorities announced.
Brian Hopkins, 62, of Chandler, was sentenced to 21 months in prison on Wednesday and ordered to pay over $1.8 million, according to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona. Hopkins had already pleaded guilty to mail fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and making a false statement on his tax return.
Hopkins’ co-conspirators, 58-year-old Richard Kuhlmann of Tempe and 54-year-old David Bartlett of Scottsdale, received sentences of 42 months and 24 months in jail, respectively. Kuhlmann was also forced to pay more than $2.1 million in reparations, while Bartlett was ordered to pay more than $500,000.
Kuhlmann previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, mail fraud, and transactional money laundering. Meanwhile, Bartlett had previously pled guilty to mail fraud.
Details on telemarketing fraud scheme
Kuhlmann and Hopkins owned and ran a telemarketing company in Arizona that went by several names, including GTT Financial.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, the business would call prospective consumers and offer to lower their credit card rates. Anyone who decided to use GTT Financial’s services became a victim of the fraudulent operation.
Employees, including Bartlett, would inform consumers that they could purchase a “sales lead” for $1, and that each “sales lead” represented a potential customer for the company’s credit card debt service. The staff would then guarantee the customers a percentage of any fees paid to GTT for each sales lead, as well as a big return on their investment.
However, the co-conspirators and other GTT workers turned the sales leads into a scam, stealing the victim’s money.
Between 2014 and 2019, the co-conspirators stole over $10 million from over 1,000 victims across the United States in exchange for fictitious sales leads.
The IRS Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office investigated this case.
