Section of Law Suit Related to the Defendants'
Operations and Practices While Operating an Alleged Telemarketing
Fraud Scheme
APPLICABLE TO THE SYNDICATE
The Syndicate carry on the
business of telephone solicitation to allegedly promote and sell
various products or services to consumers throughout Canada excluding
Quebec. These activities are conducted together and in conjunction
with the other fraudulent telemarketers.
During material times, the
Syndicate and their telemarketers contacted the Plaintiffs stating
that the Plaintiffs were winners in "giveaways" or a "prize
draw." The Plaintiffs (also referred to herein as "victims")
relied on these fraudulent and deceitful representations to the
Plaintiffs’ detriment. The Syndicate knew that the Plaintiffs would
rely on their unlawful and deceitful representations to the Plaintiffs
detriment.
The Plaintiffs plead that
individual Syndicate named herein are directing minds of, employees
of, or in the alternative agents of, or in the further alternative
independent contractors working for, or in the further alternative,
as partners of, the Syndicate.
In the further alternative,
individuals named herein are further independently liable for acts
of the injurious tort of deceit.
In the further alternative,
the individuals named herein are directors and controlling minds
of the member corporations and entities of the Syndicate.
At all times, the Syndicate
knew they could not, or would not be providing the extravagant
goods, services, or return of funds as represented to the Plaintiffs
because the Syndicate had been engaging in this pattern of deceit
for years as a course of business. Further, documents found at
abandoned Syndicate boiler-rooms show that the Syndicate and its
agents have been engaged in the use of false names, and call their
victims "smooches." A TV documentary stated that "smooch" is
street-vernacular for "sucker."
At all times, the Syndicate
knew, or ought to have known, that most of the Plaintiffs were
especially vulnerable because they came from a generation that
were much more trusting and kind to strangers.
The Plaintiffs plead that
all the Syndicate conspired with each other for the illegal purpose
of misleading, intimidating, threatening, and defrauding the Plaintiffs,
and have in fact done so.
The OPP has records of complaints
and inquiries from the public that feel that they have, or could
have, been misled by false promises of extravagant prizes that
do not materialize.
As of May 14 1998, the joint
OPP-RCMP "Operation Phonebusters" records disclose the
following information, based on calls to them by the public:
| Company
Name Used |
No.
of Attempts |
No.
of Victims |
Total
$ Loss By Victims |
Total
$ Attempted By Telemarketers |
| Consumer
Group |
216 |
39 |
678,686.09 |
772,739.09 |
| Delta International |
20 |
20 |
33,304.36 |
120,028.45 |
| MIC |
77 |
54 |
199,183.45 |
578,082.59 |
| National
Distributors |
25 |
18 |
44,699.00 |
110,829.67 |
| East Coast
Trading |
248 |
45 |
96,140.84 |
319,141.20 |
| Cap Can
Trading |
201 |
33 |
157,150.66 |
342,403.95 |
As of 31 August 1998, the
joint OPP-RCMP "Operation Phonebusters" records disclose
the following information, based on calls to them by the public:
| Company
Name Used |
No.
of Attempts |
No.
of Victims |
Total
$ Loss By Victims |
Total
$ Attempted By Telemarketers |
| Spectrum
Trading |
58 |
11 |
25,622.34 |
46,682.57 |
| ISP |
4 |
9 |
9,402.00 |
42,733.00 |
| Procan |
776 |
113 |
561,465.11 |
793,457.63 |
The Plaintiffs plead that
the Syndicate should have been, or were aware of their victims’ ages,
and mental infirmity during their communications, and as such
induced the Plaintiffs to purchase items they knew or ought to
have known the victims had no reason to purchase, and seized
on the opportunity to engage in deceptive sales practices.
The Plaintiffs did not
receive the monies represented by the Syndicate, nor any of the
extravagant prizes promised to them, the provisions of which
were essential terms of the contracts between the parties.
In the alternative, the
Plaintiffs plead that the failure of the Syndicate to fulfill
their obligations under their oral contracts constitutes a fundamental
breach of these contracts, entitling the Plaintiffs to rescission,
or in the alternative, damages.
The Syndicate have conspired
together at various times only known to the Syndicate and between
themselves to design and implement and act upon a telemarketing
program designed to specifically target buyers who are elderly,
easily intimidated, misled or unable to appreciate the nature
and degree of the representations being made, and to defraud
these persons, which include the Plaintiffs, of money. The Plaintiffs
suffered and claim damages arising from this conspiracy.
The Plaintiffs plead that
at all material times, they were unable to appreciate the nature
and effect of any contracts, which they may have entered into.
An example of an especially
vulnerable person would be a grieving widow, who --- according
to experts --- has temporarily lost her normal decision-making
abilities.
The Plaintiffs plead and
rely upon the legal doctrines of non est factum and consensus
ad idem.
The Plaintiffs plead that
the conduct of the Syndicate was unconscionable, and accordingly
these oral contracts should be set aside.
The Plaintiffs further
plead the conduct of the Syndicate was fraudulent, and that they
suffered damages thereby, being the monies paid to the Syndicate
and emotional upset, trauma and distress.
The activities of the Syndicate
that are complained of herein have resulted in the deterioration
of the physical health of all of the Plaintiffs. The Syndicate
knew, or ought to have known, that their activities would have
consequently impacted on the health and well being of all of
the Plaintiffs.
The Syndicate uses a myriad
of corporate shells in order to create an appearance that there
are unrelated outfits defrauding the Plaintiffs. Further, the
Syndicate made efforts to avoid liability by using corporate
shells.
In reality, the myriad
of corporate shells is merely used by the Syndicate to confuse
victims, victims’ investigators, and the police authorities.
The Syndicate used a number
of pretexts or "scripts" to convince their victims
and the Plaintiffs to send money to the Syndicate. Aside from
names, amount, dates and times of these calls, the other particulars
of representations made to the Plaintiffs are very similar to
the representations made to the Plaintiff Gibbons referred to
within this Claim.
After corporate identities
are received from the Quebec government, most of the Syndicate’s
telemarketing corporations fell into a "Default of Article
29" designation, indicating that they failed to file further
information as required by Quebec.
The Syndicate freely abandons
company names, offices, and corporate shells within a few months,
moving on to another location, but using many of their members
and continue to defraud the elderly, the naive, and the vulnerable
members of society, such as the Plaintiffs.
The Syndicate, in the course
of their telephone solicitation activities, uses different companies,
business names and a variety of individuals to contact prospective
victims throughout Canada by telephone.
The Syndicate’s modus operandi
is as follows: Once a prospective victim is located, the victim
is induced to make payments by representations that he or she
is in a position to receive a specific benefit, the nature of
which varies from victim to victim, but includes representations
that the victim has won an extravagant prize or prizes, and/or
is able to purchase expensive goods at a nominal cost, and/or
has been chosen to receive an expense gift, or cash.
Once the victim expresses
an interest in receiving the prize or benefit, they were told
they would be notified later as to how to claim the benefit.
Later, other members of
the Syndicate contacted the victims, and told the victims that
to receive the benefit, some form of up-front administration
fees, taxes, or other charges must be paid by the victim to the
Syndicate or one of its members.
Some telemarketers working
for the Syndicate stated that they were working to recover monies
previously lost by Plaintiffs and other victims to the Syndicate.
Some telemarketers working
for the Syndicate stated that they were lawyers or authorities
who had seized monies on behalf of victims and the Plaintiffs.
Some telemarketers working
for the Syndicate stated that they were government, or charitable
organizations.
The Syndicate placed unsolicited
telephone calls and solicitations to the Plaintiffs and falsely
described themselves as "award-centers."
Between 1994 and 1998,
as a result of the promises, solicitations and representations
made by members of the Syndicate, the Plaintiffs sent various
amounts of money to the Syndicate, with the anticipation of receiving
prizes, awards and other benefits, which were, in fact, not forthcoming.
After receiving money from
victims, the Syndicate sent out unordered merchandise of relatively
little value in order to make it appear as if the victims simply
purchased merchandise.
Overview of Fraudulent Telemarketers’ Practices
Particulars of the Syndicate’s
activities against the Plaintiffs have been described in the
popular press.
On or about 9 May 1997,
The Toronto Sun, in an article titled, "Cops Warn Of Phone
Scams," stated;
Police warned yesterday
that Montreal -based scam artists again are slipping their slimy
fingers into the pocketbooks of the unwary in the Metro area.
Durham Regional Police
said a 76-year-old Oshawa woman was told by a telemarketing con
man she had won $ 1.2 million, but the victim had to send them
a $ 5,000 bank draft to pay the luxury tax on her winnings.
After sending the draft,
the Montreal -based con operation called again saying a mistake
was made and she had to send more cash. And later more money.
In all, the woman was tricked into sending $ 200,000. Police
have been unable to track down the culprits.
Police said winners never
have to dole out money to claim a large, extravagant prize in
legitimate contests, and to never give credit card numbers or
other personal information over the phone.
On or about 13 February
1998, the Dallas Morning News stated:
Working out of Canada is
the latest wrinkle in the telemarketing fraud game, which is
estimated to rake in $ 40 billion annually. Some $ 50 million
of that total is collected by Canadian perpetrators who play
upon jurisdictional complications to avoid prosecution in our
country and their own.
One reformed (fraudulent)
telemarketing operator described his former colleagues as drug
addicts who really needed the money and were able to read people
like a psychiatrist. Gearing their pitch to the needs and nest
egg of each potential victim, the boiler-room "yacks" weave
fact and fiction in ways most novelists can only dream about.
Frequently, as in your
case, they title their company, contest and products after familiar-sounding
entities in order to give them legitimacy, and even throw in
details such as a check number.
Had you fallen for the
scam, you’d be ripe for what insiders call a "recovery room" pitch,
in which the scammers claim they can recover your loss from the
phony sweepstakes people - for yet another advance fee.
Another bunco [scam] alert
are those calls from people claiming to represent the Publishers'
Clearinghouse Sweepstakes, that legitimate company famous for
its Super Bowl Sunday Prize Patrol, which tends to surprise little
old ladies with multimillion-dollar windfalls. In such scam calls,
the senior citizen is told Ed McMahon is going to deliver the
prize himself and even take him or her to lunch! Then comes the
caveat: the prepayment of federal taxes, amounting to between
$ 20,000 and $ 270,000, depending upon the perception of the
pigeon's ability to pay.
Use of False Identities
by Telemarketers:
On or about 17 June 1998,
representative of the Luizos law firm discovered documents from
telemarketing boiler rooms at 5250 Decarie Suite 410 and at 8455
Decarie Blvd showing the similar handwriting from the following
personations:
Hope Evans, Hope Winters,
Hope Waters, Holly, Gina Evans, Janice Stevens
A female identifying herself
as the manager at a boiler room called Sunflower Inc. stated
that telemarketers use false names "as a policy."
Many of the personal and
business names used by the Syndicate’s telemarketers as referenced
within this Claim were false and were intended to deceive victims.
The Syndicate’s Use of
Legitimate-Sounding Company Names and Tax-Authorities
The Syndicate uses similar
sounding names to that of legitimate companies in order to mislead
the Syndicate’s victims into thinking that the Syndicate’s telemarketers
are completely legitimate. For example, the Syndicate uses the
names "Columbia Group" and "Publisher’s Digest" which
are similar to the legitimate companies named "Columbia
House" and "Readers Digest."
Police records show that
the Syndicate’s telephone number (514) 395-2300 has been used
under the following Syndicate telemarketers using these organizational
names:
Canadian Lottery Commission,
Consumer Group Protection Agency, Revenue Canada, Pro Detail
Group Inc.,
Consumer Business Recovery,
Consumer Affairs of Canada, Columbia Group, Consumer Group, Bonanza
Group,
Canadian Consumer Group,
Consumer Group of Canada, First District Court House, Consumer
Protection Agency,
Incentive International,
Kyle Pendleton, Normes De Travail
Arrested Syndicate members
On or about February 1998,
the RCMP raided a Syndicate telemarketing boiler room in Montreal,
Quebec and arrested 9 individuals: Tom Altenburg, Lisa Goldenberg
Karp, Dawn Pamela Blake, Cathy Moore, Ted Grossbaum, Pamela Ann
Gordon, Andres Tousignant, Richard Narik and Kimberly Dupigny.
Tom Altenburg (also known
as, and referred to herein as "Thomas Altenburg") is
Blake’s boyfriend and Tom Altentburg is a leader within the Syndicate.
Even after their arrest, Blake continued to work with Altenburg.
Blake told her family that
she was no longer working at telemarketing outfits. However,
a document subsequently found just outside Altenburg’s office
at 8600 Decarie, Ste 102, indicates Blake was still involved
with the Syndicate’s telemarketing operations.
Suite 126, 1015 Beaver
Hall Hill, Montreal, QC is an empty office used as a courier
drop site by telemarketing operators working out of 505 Rene
Levesque, Ste. 1510. This location is where several telemarketers
named herein as being arrested by the RCMP were active.
Dino Del Grosso, Mario
Del Grosso, Ian Herman, Marc Anthony Babierri, Herwig Radlgruber,
Ted Grossbaum and Morris Weinstein were supervisors of the notorious
Syndicate telemarketing boiler room located at Suite 410, 5250
Decarie Blvd, Montreal (hereinafter referred to as "Suite
410.")
Government records show
that the Defendant Herwig Radlgruber was the director behind "Publisher’s
Digest," "Reader’s Clearing Center", and "Canadian
Household Distribution."
After Suite 410 closed
its operations, telemarketing victims who sent monies to Suite
410 were further telemarketed by other branches of the Syndicate
including East Coast Trading, Heritage Group, and Sunflower Inc.
Ascenza Mancini is a resident
126 Ivan Stockwell, Pt. Claire, QC.
Ascenza Mancini willfully
allows Dino Del Grosso to hide his assets under her name.
Dawn Carpenter, is an individual
who was operating a boiler room under the name of Sunflower Inc.,
under the direction of the Syndicate. Dawn Carpenter and her
husband Jordan Carpenter controlled the Syndicate’s account #80716
at the Caisse Populaire, Notre Dame de Gras, transit 30226.
Dawn Carpenter also operated
the Syndicate’s bank accounts under the business name of Snow-Com
Inc. Snow-Com Inc. used the address 5172 Queen Mary Road, Montreal.
The Syndicate deposited victims’ payments into accounts under
the name of Snow-Com Inc., at Caisse Populaire de Gras, account
#810170 and Howlan Mills Realties Trust, account #810122.
As at 1998, Phonebusters
had recorded 41 "attempts" by Sunflower, and a total
of $72,000 taken from 13 victims.
The Triple Crown and East
Coast Trading arm of the Syndicate
Triple Crown Industries/Les
Industries Triple Crown ("TC") is a business name registered
to 9049-4824 Quebec Inc.
TC was registered on July
1997.
TC has a registered office
at 4150 Sherbrooke West, Third Floor, Montreal, PQ, H3Z 1C2.
9054-4545 Quebec Inc. was
registered on September 15, 1997.
East Coast Trading/Commerce
Cote Est ("ECT") is a business name registered to 9054-4545
Quebec Inc., on January 1998.
The Plaintiffs plead that
the same directing minds, working for the Syndicate, were behind
ECT and TC. These directing minds created these corporations
as part of their plan to deceive victims, authorities, and other
parties pursuing fraudulent telemarketers.
9054-4545 Quebec Inc. has
a registered office at 1010 La Gauchetiere West, Suite 1200,
Montreal, H3B 2P9, c/o Mr. Melvin S. Kronish ("Kronish".)
The business names used
by 9054-4545 were used prior to their registration with respect
to the representations to victims.
Kronish is well known to
police authorities for his activities in having incorporated
many of the telemarketing outfits.
Carrie Finkelstein ("Finkelstein")
is the president of ECT according to government records. Finkelstein
resides at 175 Poplar, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, H9A 2A5.
On or about 27 May 1998,
a visit to ECT’s registered office showed that Kronish was not
located there.
East Coast Trading’s and
Triple Crown’s office
On or about 27 May 1998,
ECT and TC did not have their companies listed on the building
directory in which these companies purportedly do business.
On or about 27 May 1998,
Shaw was manning the reception and telephone desk at the Greene
Avenue location, answering the phone with the greeting, "corporate
offices." Shaw identified herself as Shaw, and not Carrie
Simon.
Shaw stated that Finkelstein
was not present at the time. Shaw stated that Finkelstein was
involved with the operation.
Various telemarketers were
present, apparently ending their working day with a report to
Shaw. When three persons from the Luizos law firm arrived, these
telemarketers left quickly. One suspected female telemarketer
was observed waiting outside the building in a BMW automobile.
The BMW’s ("BMW")
Quebec license plate was 403 CZR
The BMW is owned by Susan
Cohen Freedman, with a Date of Birth of September 12, 1952, and
is a resident of 650 Carlton Avenue, Westmount, PQ, H3Y 2Y2.
Both TC and ECT use the
same phone and fax number, which are 846-3323 and 846-3888 respectively.
According to phone directories,
the telephone number 846-3323 is registered to S. Lerner, at
1259 St. Marc, Montreal, since 1996.
According to phone directories,
the number 846-3888 is registered to Ricardo Paima, at 1000 Ste.
Marguerite.
Heritage Group, ECT and
TC are well known to police authorities.
Finkelstein-Simon’s use
of aliases
"Macy’s," a department
store, of Mason, Ohio, 45040-8058, USA, has records of purchases
by "Ms. Finkelstein" at her Poplar address.
"The Fashion Bug," a
clothing store chain in the USA has records of purchases by "Ms.
Finkelstein" at her Poplar address.
The Christine Shaw / IDC
Courier connection
I.D.C. ("IDC")
is a courier company with offices at 240 Peel Street, an address
used by ECT for receiving incoming mail.
ECT used IDC’s address
as a nominal "front" address, without the knowledge
or consent of IDC’s management.
According to records at
IDC, a Christine Shaw ("Shaw") made arrangements for
special negotiated rates for several telemarketing outfits,
including, without limitation:
Cap Can
Trading, 49 Jean Talon
Canadian
Business Supplies, 1425 Rene Levesque, Ste. 669
East Coast
Trading, 1310 Greene, Ste. 910
According
to documents existent at IDC, Shaw sent faxes and received deliveries
on behalf of these telemarketing outfits.
Prior to the discovery
of these records IDC, it was previously generally thought that
these telemarketing outfits were unrelated to each other.
Shaw is believed to be
a fictitious name used by an unknown person or persons associated
with fraudulent telemarketing outfits in Montreal.
Cap Can Trading and Canadian
Business Supplies were telemarketing outfits where Sheldon Caplan
("Sheldon") had arranged office leases with building
owners.
Sheldon is well known to
police for his telemarketing activities.
Canadian Business Supplies,
ECT, TC, Family Clearance Centre, used award certificates issued
by Canadian Winners Circle as part of the telemarketing scheme.
Sheldon is a principal
in the telemarketing firm Lighthouse Direct International ("LDI"),
along with Peter Trodjman and George Warash.
An elderly victim from
Ontario who suffered a loss of over $130,000 from several telemarketers
previously litigated LDI.
Connections between seemingly
different corporations/disguises
Documents found at LDI’s
abandoned offices belonged to the following telemarketing operations
which represented themselves to the Plaintiffs and other victims
as having different locations:
Greenview Marketing (with
Bernie Kay)
Gifting House
Consumers Clearing House
National Collection of
Awards
Payments received by Consumer
Group and East Coast Trading were deposited into a single account
at the Caisse Populaire, St. Matheu, transit #30348, account
#80893.
LDI victims were subsequently
telemarketed by the following telemarketing outfits:
Consumer Group/Omega
Montreal Interactive Communications
(MIC)
Delta
GITA
Frontier
PDN
Some victims were telemarketed
by Heritage Group with a promise to obtain their money back from
the alleged bankruptcy of Cap Can Trading.
The phone directory states
that a "C. Simon" resides at 175 Poplar, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux,
tel 684-5321, fax 421-0534 (hereinafter referred to as "175
Poplar.")
Finkelstein is also known
as "Carri Finkelstein," "Carri Simon," and "Carrie
Simon."
On or about 12 May 1998,
a person identifying himself as "Mr. Simon" at telephone
number 684-5321, denied any knowledge of Finkelstein, Carrie,
or of telemarketing activities.
Jessica Simon is a resident
of Poplar. On 24 May 1998, Jessica attended a social function
given by Helene ("Helene") who has a telephone number
of 696-5604.
Helene lives with Ronald
Shear AKA Ronnie Shear ("Ronnie") of 205 Montpellier,
Dollard-Des-Ormeaux. (Hereinafter referred to as "Montpellier.")
Phone directories include
a listing for Ronnie Shear, telephone number 696-5604.
Montpellier is an address
used by several prize/awards outfits associated with telemarketing
outfits, including, without limitation "Great Canadian Giveaway," "Classic
Jackpot," and "Canadian Winners Circle" --- all
names registered by 9026-0803 Quebec Inc, a corporation controlled
by "Steven Shear."
Award certificates issued
by Canadian Winners Circle were used by Canadian Business Supplies
a s part of a telemarketing scheme.
In fact, Steven Shear is
not a resident of 205 Montpellier.
According to government
documents, 9026-0803 Quebec Inc. is owned by a "Steven Shear."
9026-0803 Quebec Inc’s
lawyers are Shaffer & Shaffer, who are located at the same
floor as TC’s government-registered address.
In or about 17 June 1998,
Montpellier was listed for sale with the "A. Shear" Realty
Company.
The only residents at Montpellier
according to school election records are:
Bernard Fishman, Male,
Date of Birth of May 22 1926
Helene Fishman, Female, Date of Birth of December 1 1956
Ronald Shear, also known as Ronnie Shear, Male, Date of Birth of November
15 1955
Sandra Stober, Female, Date of Birth of April 23 1937
Steven Shear is either
a fictitious name or an alias used by Ronald (Ronnie) Shear.
Ronald ("Ronnie") Shear is a name that is well known to police
authorities.
Ronald Shear had signing authority for TC at the TC account Royal Bank
at 13135 Guinea Blvd. W., Pierrefonds, QC.
Ronnie was the signing authority for Canadian Winners’ Circle at Royal
Bank, Royalmount and Royden, Mt. Royal.
Royal Business Supplies
is a company name used by the Syndicate.
Ronnie (using the name
Ronald) Shear had signing authority for Royal Business Supplies’ bank
account at Laurentian Bank, transit 01091, account 109-49007-601,
along with Leslie Pinsky, and Morris Staszower.
Pinsky and Staszower were
arrested for fraudulent telemarketing, according to police records.
They were not prosecuted further due to lack of resources.
Summit Group is another
company name used by the Syndicate.
Ronnie was also a signatory
for the Summit Group at National Trust, 5800 Cavendish Blvd,
Montreal, account 0414034596. Summit Group was a fraudulent telemarketing
outfit. Ronnie was a signatory along with Scott Chadwick, Audrey
Gilman, Eyal Artzy, Ilal Artzy.
Ronnie, along with Eyal
Artzy ("Eyal") was a co-signatory at the TC account
at the CIBC.
Helene Fishman is the spouse
of Ronnie.
Eyal is known to police
authorities for his telemarketing activities.
Audrey ("Audrey")
Fishman Gilman, with a Date of Birth of April 9 1958, is well
known to police authorities. Audrey and Ilal Artzy ("Ilal")
have signing authority for the Summit Group, a telemarketing
company with dozens of complaints known to police, at the National
Trust at 5800 Cavendish, Montreal.
Audrey Fishman Gilman is
related to Bernard Fishman.
Audrey Fishman Gilman is
related to Helene Fishman.
Discovery of Further Documents
Linking Boiler Rooms:
On or about 17 June 1998,
representatives of the Luizos law firm discovered documents from
th ese telemarketing "outfits" at an office formerly
occupied by Frontier Enterprises at 8455 Decarie Blvd, Montreal:
Lighthouse Direct Enterprises
Impact Marketing Group,
4544 Decarie Blvd, Suite 3, Montreal
Central Distributers, 4400
Cote de Liesse, Suite 117, Town of Mount Royal
Michael Johnson cob Frontier
Enterprises, 8455 Decarie Blvd, Ste. 200, Montreal
Impact Marketing
True North Enterprises,
Impact Marketing and Frontier Enterprises indicating that these "outfits" employed
the same staff (e.g.- Payroll records for Ann David.)
Bernie Kay’s (Bernie Karachinsky)
name was used to operate the Bell Canada account for Greenview
Marketing.
Greenview Marketing’s documents
were found at offices formerly used by Lighthouse Direct Enterprises
and subsequently abandoned. This office was located at 2340 Lucerne
Suite 31, Montreal.
Invoice forms used by three
outfits, LDI, Impact Marketing Group, and Select Marketing Systems
are nearly identical in form and content. Although these outfits
were located at different addresses, they were created and controlled
by the Syndicate.
Identical invoice forms
were printed by many of the biggest company names in Montreal
telemarketing boiler rooms, including "The Omega Group", "Montreal
Interactive Communications", "Delta International," RCC,
Protocall Consumer Innovations and "G.I.T.A."
TC and ECT used the same
address, same dot-matrix printer to produce their invoices, the
same invoice forms, and the same text and terms on their invoices.
The following outfits used
identical endorsement stamps, style of endorsement, and handwriting
on cashed drafts from telemarketing victim and Plaintiff, Elsa
Horvath:
Impact Group
Lighthouse Direct International
S.M.S. (a.k.a. Select Marketing
System)
Readers Clearing Center
("RCC") was a company located at 5290 Ferrier Street,
Suite 400, Montreal. G.I.T.A. was a company located at 615 Rene
Levesque, Suite 610, Montreal. Delta International and Omega
Group were companies located at 5250 Decarie Blvd., Suite 410.
These companies names were used by the Syndicate to obtain money
from victims.
RCC, Omega Group, Montreal
Interactive Communications, and Delta International used the
same GST and QST tax numbers on their invoices.
Montreal Interactive Communications,
Protocall Consumer Innovations, and G.I.T.A. used the same inventory
numbers on their invoices.
Protel Resources at 1405
Bishop Street, Suite 100 also used the same form and inventory
number as G.I.T.A. and Montreal Interactive Communications.
First Avenue Productions
("FAP") was a company located at 5465 Queen Mary Road.
First Call Distributing ("FCD") was a company located
at 5465 Queen Mary Road. Residential Gift House ("RGH")
at 5264 Queen Mary Road, Montreal. These companies names were
used by the Syndicate to obtain money from victims.
FAP and RGH used similar
text ("Premium/Prime - delete {product}), and forms as Omega
Group, Delta International, Protel Resources, G.I.T.A., and Delta
International.
FAP’s and FCD’s invoices
stated that their GST number was 138615802.
Lodgyk Enterprises was
a company located at 3049 D. Deacon, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, QC,
H9B 2M5. C.G.W. Incorporated ("CGW") was a company
located at 1637 St. Catherine West, Suite 301, Montreal. London
House Novelties ("LHW") was a company located at 4230
St. John’s Blvd, #231, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, QC. These companies
names were used by the Syndicate to obtain money from victims.
Lodgyk Enterprises, LHW
and CGW used the exact same:
Invoice forms
Registration Fee of $40 per invoice
Shipping and Handling Fee of $30
"Prepayment" text
"Guaranteed" text on the comment box
FAP, FCD, RGH, LHW, TC,
ECT, Impact Group, Impact Marketing Group, Delta International,
Montreal Interactive, G.I.T.A., Consumer Group, Omega, Lighthouse
Direct International, Lodgyk Enterprises, CGW were among the
myriad of company fronts used by the Syndicate to extract money
from their victims.
The Plaintiffs plead that
it is plainly obvious that a unified organisation directed the
creation of these documents, and the Syndicate’s underlying telemarketing
scheme.
Mario Del Gross, Dino Del
Grosso, Herwig Radlgruber were some of Syndicate’s directing
minds behind these companies.
Shared Use of Telemarketing
Offices:
On or about 17 June 1998,
representative of the Luizos law firm discovered a filing drawer
at an abandoned telemarketing boiler room at 1831 Rene Levesque,
ground floor, Montreal which contained the following labels:
ISP
Protek
Atlantic Communications
At this same location,
a file folder was found which contained the following label: "Follow
up – Spectrum."
At this same location, documents
for the following parties were discovered:
Leonard Amari
ISP Inc.
Seweryn Kryk
ISP/Marc Gregwell
Spectrum Trading, which
claimed to be at 4531 Des Sources Blvd Suite 100, Montreal, is
well known to police authorities for telemarketing activities.
According to OPP Phonebusters'
records, other telemarketers names and outfits using the location
of 1831 Rene Levesque, Montreal, included the following:
Duvois & Associates,
Stevenson Duvoir, Bernstein & Bernstein (drafts payable to
James Bell),
International Security
Premium (ISP), Stevenson Duvorr, Global International,
Max Greenburg (drafts payable
to John Barker), James Noel.
"Prime Group" is
a trade name operated by 9051-1254 Quebec Inc. AKA "LDG
Supersound."
Bank drafts payable to
Prime Group were deposited in LDG Supersound’s account at the
Bank of Montreal.
Prime Group also used offices
at 1434 St. Catherines West.
Kryk was also a directing
mind behind Prime Group along with Lenn Gomes and Barbara Gomes.
Prime Group was not registered
with the province as doing business at 1434 St. Catherines West.
The directors of LDG Supersound/Prime
Group are Lenn Gomes and Barbara Thompson. Both these directors
cannot be located at their respective declared addresses in government
records.
After Prime Group closed
its operations, an outfit calling itself "Oasis" called
previous telemarketing victims of Prime Group. Oasis stated that
they were taking over Prime Group.
The Prime Group is known
to police circles as being part of the "David Rost" arm
of the Syndicate.
"Oasis" is known
to police authorities as a David Rost boiler-room operation.
Common signatories and
numbers:
On or about 29 November
1995, Pierre Savigny ("Savigny") incorporated 9025-5263
Quebec Inc which subsequently identified itself as "Procan," "Pro-Can
Inc.," and "Pro Can" to telemarketing victims.
Pierre Savigny claimed a
home address of 3822 St. Denis, Montreal. Investigations to that
location did not reveal the presence of Savigny.
On or about 14 December
1995, Savigny incorporated 9029-1485 Quebec Inc., cob KP Canada
Promotions.
On or about 13 December
1995, Savigny and Michael Gagnon incorporated 9029-0362 Quebec
Inc., which identified itself as "National Administration" to
victims.
Savigny, along with David
Rost, was a directing mind behind the telemarketing operation,
which called itself "Prosave" or "Pro Save Inc." to
victims.
Savigny, along with David
Rost, was a directing mind behind the telemarketing operation,
which called itself "LGBO" to victims. Savigny identified
his home address as 268 Strasbourg, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux.
David Rost, along with Savigny
and Luc Philippe McCuiston, were the signing authorities at an
account owned by Prosave at the Bank of Nova Scotia, 1715 Victoria
Square, Montreal.
On or about 20 June 1996,
Savigny incorporated 9022-1714 Quebec Inc., claiming an address
of 268 Strasbourg, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux.
Protocall Consumer Innovations
was a name used by the Syndicate members operating out of 3535
Queen Mary Road, Suite 401, Montreal.
Thomas Altenburg, Dino Del
Grosso, Elias Bakomichalis were signing authorities at an account
owned by 3130100 Canada Inc cob "PCI" and cob "Protocall
Consumer Innovations." The PCI account was established at
the Royal Bank, 5469 Queen Mary, Snowdon, Montreal.
On or about July 1997, Kryk
named "Elias Bachamichalis of Telecoat at 514-340-3656,
fax 514-340-3658" as his credit reference in Kryk’s Sprint
Canada credit application. As of 4 September 1998, both numbers
were not in service. Telecoat is known to police authorities.
Payments from Blundell and
Reineke were cleared by the Syndicate through their account operating
under the Defendant 2547-8918 Quebec Inc.
Blundell’s payment was payable
to "Consumer Group Reg’d" and Reineke’s payment was
for "East Coast Trading." The account for 2547-8919
Quebec Inc. was held at the Caisse Populaire St. Matheu, transit
#30348, account #80893.
PCI/Protocall Consumer Innovations
used GST #140637505, which was precisely the same GST number
used by these other telemarketing outfits with varying addresses:
Publishers Digest at 7881
Decarie Blvd, Suite 400, Montreal
Columbia Group at 615 Rene
Levesque Blvd. W., Suite 625, Montreal
Consumer Group at 5250
Decarie Blvd., Suite 410, Montreal
Montreal Interactive (Communications)
at 1425 Rene Levesque Blvd. W., Suite 508, Montreal
Delta International at
5250 Decarie Blvd., Suite 410, Montreal and at 8600 Decarie Blvd.,
#102, T.M.R.
Fortress Marketing at 2110
Decarie Blvd, Suite 100, Montreal and at 3535 Queen Mary Rd.,
Suite 410
Protel Resources at 1405 Bishop Street, Suite
100, Montreal
Protel Resources at 3535
Queen Mary Rd, Suite 410, Montreal
Corporate Investment Center
at 5170 St. Patrick, Suite 119, Montreal
The Montreal telephone
number of 514-484-1804 was used by the following "outfits":
LGBO
Pro Save Inc.
Other Facts known about
various members of the Syndicate and Its Operational Arms:
East Coast Trading used
advertising materials identical to the ones implemented by the
branch of the Syndicate known as the Collin Grant-David Rost
telemarketing group.
LGBO and Pro Save Inc are
legal entities used as corporate disguises by the David Rost
arm of the Syndicate.
Karachinsky is known to
police as a member of the Syndicate’s branch known as the "Pinsky
Group."
Karachinsky was a directing
mind behind Syndicate boiler rooms using names such as "Greenview
Marketing" and "Action Enterprises."
Karachinsky was charged
by police for fraud. The charges were later dropped by the Crown.
Due to the lack of resources, the Crown Attorneys have been forced
to drop charges against white-collar criminals, including fraudulent
telemarketers, including Syndicate’s "Pinsky Group."
Action Enterprise’s business
account at Caisse Populaire, Cote St. Luc, account no. 86175
is registered to 9049-1895 Quebec Inc., signing authority Michael
Johnson, DOB of Feb 25 1959.
Michael Johnson was the
person responsible for the telephone accounts with Cantel at
a Syndicate operation called "Frontier Enterprises."
On or about 18 June 1998,
one of Karachinsky’s telemarketing associates who was knowledgeable
of Karachinsky’s involvement with Marketing attended at Karachinsky’s
boiler room at 3285 Cavendish Boulevard, Ste. 481, Montreal for
a meeting with Karachinsky.
Karachinsky’s associate
drives a red Cadillac convertible which according to government
records should be a gold-coloured Cadillac, registered to Jack
Pashlin, DOB of Jan 25 1924, at 4635 Calaranald, Apt 312, Montreal.
However, Pashlin was not the driver (Karachinsky’s associate)
of the red Cadillac.
Leonardo Amari ("Amari")
is known to police as an operator of the Pro Detail Group ("PDG")
telemarketing operation.
Amari signed as company
president of PDG with Sprint. As of March 1998, PDG owed Sprint
$14,897.
Amari, using the address
of 22 Surrey, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, was the signing authority
at the PDG bank account at National Bank, Ste. Catherine West,
Transit 01431, and tel 514-954-4400.
Amari stated that he has
dealings with Triton Industries. Triton Industries is another
telemarketing outfit known to police.
PDG’s account with the
Bank of Montreal was opened on Feb 10 1997. Deposits in excess
of $36,260.35 were made to PDG’s account between June 3 1997
and June 23 1997.
The Defendants Luigi and
Stefania Amari conspired with Leonardo Amari to use the address
of 22 Surrey as a fraudulently business address for Leonardo
Amari’s businesses, whereas in fact, Leonardo Amari’s telemarketing
operations were conducted elsewhere.
Luigi and Stefania Amari
wilfully allowed Leonardo Amari to fraudulently conceal his assets
in their names.
In the alternative, Luigi
and Stefania Amari were wilfully blind to the fraudulent activities
conducted by Leonardo Amari at their 22 Surrey residence.
Seweryn Kryk is the signatory
for Shoppers Import Group (AKA Shoppers International) with Sprint
Canada Inc.’s cellular phone service.
Herwig Radlgruber, Ted
Grossbaum, and Morris Weinstein are known to police as being
the principal operators of Montreal Interactive Communications,
Delta International, Consumer Group, and Columbia Group, all
alleged fraudulent telemarketing outfits.
According to police records,
Radlgruber along with Morris Weinstein and Ted Grossbaum operated
9049-9625 c.o.b. National Distributers.
LDI is an operation that
is alleged by police to have connections to Sheldon Caplan.
LDI’s government filings
disclose that Sheldon Caplan and Peter Trodjman are directors.
LDI’s account at a Caisse
Populaire has a "George Warash" as the signatory.
The Syndicate is behind
a telemarketing outfit calling itself "Aquarian of Canada" and "Aquarian
Canada" in the Montreal area.
At various times the Plaintiff
Fournier was induced by the Syndicate to make payments to Aquarian
Canada through the Syndicate’s deceit and misrepresentations.
As of 8 December 1998,
Phonebusters had received 82 complaints against Aquarian of Canada.
There were also 70 attempts reported for $58,832 as well as 12
victims reporting a loss of $28,551.62.
The Syndicate is behind
other telemarketing outfits calling themselves "International
Shoppers Network:", "Silver Selection Awards", "Canadian
National Digest", CND Inc.", "Impact Marketing
Group", "Impact Group", "KML", "Consumer
Rewards Promotion", and "Kings Merchandising Line."
Kovacs was a signatory
for the Syndicate’s account Bank of Nova Scotia, transit 40501-002,account
00101-11, 5501 Westminster Ave, Montreal. Account was frozen
by bank due to suspicious activity. Kovacs used various business
names including Mediaplex, Panmark Holdings, Concorde International,
and Tri-Mex Holding.
Deceptive statements regarding
domiciles and bank accounts:
On or about 24 July 1998,
George Warash wrote a letter to Paulos Luizos, a barrister, which
stated that he, George Warash, was not involved with Lighthouse
after February 26 1997.
Warash further stated that
his true domicile "is and continues to be 3040 Levesque
Avenue W. #712, Laval."
On or about 3 September
1998, Ms. Martine Allaire of the Caisse Populaire Desjardins
on St. Laurent stated that George Warash opened on account (#92277)
for Lighthouse on February 24 1997. Allaire provided information
which indicated:
George Warash was the original
sole signatory for this account.
There were substantial
deposits and withdrawals on the account.
George Warash issued a
letter to this Caisse Populaire which allowed Peter Trodjman
to become a signatory to the account.
George Warash issued a
letter to this Caisse Populaire which allowed a Mr. Robert Scheuer
to receive statements and other documents on behalf of Lighthouse.
The account was active
until November 1997.
At all material times,
the Caisse believed that George Warash was the directing mind
behind the Lighthouse account, and there was no contrary reason
on file to believe otherwise.
George Warash did not inform
the Caisse that, at the time, his true domicile was 4583 Rue
Foster, Pierrefonds. On or about November 1997, George Warash
sold his house at 4583 Rue Foster to Ronnie Midlash and Anastasia
Bairaktoris.
George Warash did not inform
the Caisse that Peter Trodjman was not in fact domiciled at Trodjman’s
stated address of 5802 Trans Island, Montreal.
The landlord owning 5802
Trans Island, Montreal, stated that Peter Trodjman was not the
name of known at that address.
Other members of the Syndicate
providing money-laundering and cheque-clearing services:
Michael Jerry Granofsky
("Granofsky") is a chartered accountant.
Michael Jerry Granofsky
arranged Kryk’s corporate identities.
Granofsky purposely listed
his name in the Montreal whites pages as "Granofski" in
order to thwart pursuers.
Granofsky provides a "cover" for
the Syndicate’s encashing of the Plaintiffs’ and other victim’s
payments.
Particulars of Granofsky’s
activities for the Syndicate are as follows:
Setting up as many as 30
corporate shells, which Granofsky admitted to on or about 6 October
1998.
Granofsky fraudulently
used the name of his brother-in-law, Ontario lawyer Alan Cracower
to acquire a corporate shell from Marque D’Or, which was subsequently
used by Seweryn Kryk.
Granofsky also purchased
from Marque D’Or other corporate shells used by telemarketers.
Granofsky vouched for bank
accounts opened by Kovacs including a Panmark account at TD Bank
at 1130 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal. Kovacs referred to
Granofsky, a.k.a. Granovsky, as his accountant. This account
was used to defraud telemarketing victims.
On or about 6 October 1998,
Granofsky admitted that Kryk came to him due to referrals by
other telemarketers.
On or about 6 October 1998,
Granofsky admitted that it was rather unusual for a chartered
accountant to engage in incorporation work.
On or about 6 October 1998,
Granofsky’s telephone operator admitted that there was "no
Cracower" and that they "were not a law office." She
further admitted not knowing of an Alan Cracower although she
had been employed for about a year in Granofsky’s office.
On or about 6 October 1998,
Granofsky admitted that Cracower was not an associate in his
office.
On or about 6 October,
Granofsky admitted that he could not have purchased the corporate
shell for Kryk had Granofsky not pretended to be a law office
for Alan Cracower.
On or about 6 October 1998,
Granofsky admitted that he failed to investigate the purpose
of Kryk’s corporate shell.
On or about 6 October 1998,
Allan Cracower stated that he had never been associated with
Granofsky. Rather, Cracower stated that Granofsky was his brother-in-law.
With Granofsky’s assistance
or complicity, Kryk was able to further his fraudulent activities
against elderly and vulnerable members of society. As such, Granofsky’s
conduct warrants exemplary damages as a deterrent.
Granofsky is well-known
to police authorities.
Granofsky was involved
as a principal with cheque cashing operation called Bureau Dechange
Universal (roughly translated as Universal Exchange Bureau.)
Granofsky personally endorsed
payments payable to the Syndicate in Florida.
Granofsky personally endorsed
payments payable to Universal Inc. at a Royal Bank branch. Universal
Inc. is a company name used by the Syndicate.
Marjorie Ireland is a senior
citizen and resident of 89 Brunel Road, Huntsville, Ontario.
Marjorie Ireland has sent
approximately $20,000 to fraudulent Quebec telemarketers.
Granofsky endorsed a payment
drawn on the TD Bank to fraudulent Quebec telemarketers from
Marjorie Ireland.
Granofsky personally double-endorsed
payments payable to a Syndicate companies called "Procan," "First
Choice Distributors," from Marjorie Ireland, of Huntsville,
Ontario.
Police stated that Granofsky
has a history of fronting for the Syndicate.
Granofsky is a directing
mind behind 9006-3983 Quebec Inc, which operated an account at
Caisse Populaire Notre Dame Sacre Coure Ville, La Salle, where
substantial payments from telemarketing activities were deposited.
Granofsky double and triple endorsed payments to 9006-3983 Quebec
Inc.
Granofsky is a directing
mind behind 9006-3983 Quebec Inc.
Granofsky works under,
or with "Jean Grande Accounting and Bookkeeping," (hereinafter
called "Grande") which has a phone book listed address
of 384 St. Jacques St., Montreal, Ste. 111, QC, H2Y-1S1. The "contact
telephone number" used by Grande, at the Caisse Populaire
was 514-849-3850. This is precisely the same number used by Granofsky.
Granofsky also has signing
authority for "Margill Company" at the Caisse Populaire
Notre Dame, 7625 Edouard Street, La Salle, QC, H8P 1S9, tel (514)
365-0211. Police opine that this company could be part of a downstream,
money-laundering operation for the Syndicate.
In the alternative, Granofsky
conducted his business negligently which resulted in damages
to victims.
In the further alternative,
Granofsky conducted his business with such reckless abandon that
in effect he became an accomplice of the Syndicate.
Victor Danchak ("Danchak"),
DOB of Nov 17 1955, is a directing mind of the Syndicate’s branches
known as Heritage Group, Cap Can Trading. In the alternative,
Danchak was a participant in cashing victims’ payments. Danchak
is also known as "Victor Banchak."
Danchak operated at least
one of the Syndicate’s Caisse Populaire accounts, where the police
authorities launched an investigation.
Danchak owned or operated
account no. 67981 at the Caisse Populaire Provost de Lachine.
This account was operated for the Syndicate.
On or about 17 March 1998,
Danchak deposited a victim’s Canada Trust $12,000 draft payable
to Lawrence Walker through Caisse Populaire Des Sources, for
credit to his account no. 67981 at Caisse Populaire Provost de
Lachine.
Police eventually raided
Danchak’s Caisse Populaire. Police discovered documents indicating
that Danchak controlled an account where telemarketers deposited
drafts made out to victims and routed through a front-man operating
with the Syndicate in the name of Cap Can Trading.
Cathy Wilson ("Wilson")
co-habits with Danchak. Wilson is known as Danchak’s second wife.
Cathy Wilson allowed Danchak
to fraudulently conceal his assets in her name, including a valuable
riverfront property recently listed for sale with Remax.
Cathy Wilson’s Pierrefonds
mansion was listed for sale for $800,000 with Mark Moore of Remax.
Danchak signed the document
authorising the offering for sale of Wilson’s Pierrefonds mansion
by Remax.
Mark Moore, Mrs. (Mark)
Moore and the Remax staff understand that the Pierrefonds mansion
is owned and controlled by Danchak.
The Defendant Myron Shrybman
("Shrybman") is involved in the encashing and money-laundering
operations of the Syndicate.
Shrybman opened businesses
called "Mister. Bagel" and "Mr. Baker" in
Nepean, Ontario.
Shrybman’s businesses were "fronts" for
laundering monies received by the Syndicate.
Myron Shrybman collected
payments that were dropped off by couriers for the Syndicate
at his business location at 1600 Merivale Road, Nepean, Ontario,
K2G 5J8.
These payments to Shrybman’s
Nepean business address came from victims in Ontario as well
as the U.S.
Some of these monies were
subsequently sent to the Syndicate in Quebec.
Shyrbman also directed
the deposits from telemarketing activities into an account at
the Royal Bank, 1460 Merivale Road, Nepean, Ontario, transit
number 00496-003. Victims’ monies payable to "Robert Quinn" were
deposited to this account.
A Plaintiff’s payment to
Frontier Ent (Frontier Enterprises) was deposited in an Ontario
corporate account controlled by Shrybman.
Victims were told to make
payments to straw-men such as "Robert Marshall."
Payments to Robert Marshall
and Robert Quinn were actually deposited in Syndicate accounts.
Shrybman’s business address in Nepean, Ontario was used in these
instances.
Shrybman is known to police
authorities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (the "FBI")
in the United States.
On or about November 1998,
Shrybman was given a notice to attend a U.S. Justice Department
pre-grand jury disposition request, to provide statements about
his alleged telemarketing activities for the Syndicate.
The Syndicate cleared payments
through bank accounts operated by, or fronted by, Aaron Mizrahi
("Mizrahi".)
Mizrahi cleared victims’ payments
through the Royal Bank at Bois Briand, 1400 Grande Allee Blvd,
Bois Brian, QC, G7J 2Z8.
The bank warned Mizrahi
about the "double-endorsements" and prohibited Mizrahi
from further such endorsements.
It is alleged that, as
part of the Syndicate, Mizrahi works under Marty Wiseman, Terry
Mulderrig, James Farmer, and Defendant David Rost.
The Millenium One/Second
Glance Cooperative arm of the Syndicate
Weinstein co-owns a "detox
halfway house" called Second Glance Cooperative which shares
offices with a Syndicate operation called "Millenium One." This
detox house which purports to aid drug users, is also used to
recruit telemarketers.
Second Glance Cooperative’s
detox halfway house is located at 394 Chemin Des 14 Iles, St-Hippolyte,
QC, and tel 514-735-5757 and 514-224-9939.
Other directing minds behind
Second Glance Cooperative include Marc Andre Blouin and Glenn
Walsh.
The office lease for the
Millenium One office at 4480 Cote de Liesse, Suite 360, was arranged
by Weinstein.
Morris Weinstein, Marc-Andre
Blouin, Jacques Dagenais, Daniele Smith, Nathalie Dudragne are
among the directing minds behind the arm of the Syndicate which
calls itself as Millenium One, division of Second Glance Cooperative.
Millenium One and Second
Glance Cooperative obtained funds from the Plaintiffs through
the usual promises of false and extravagant prizes.
Second Glance Cooperative’s
brochures listed (514) 735-5757 as one of its phone number.
Police authorities have
received complaints wherein another phone number listed on Second
Glance’s colour brochure, namely, (514) 735-5757, was referenced
to false-prize scams from outfits calling themselves:
"Madison Group",
of 299 Fifth Ave., Verdun, QC
"Consumer Catalogue
Distributors", of Plymouth Avenue
"Imperial Investment
Group Inc."
"Canadian Lottery
Commission"
"Millenium One",
of 4480 Cote de Liesse, Ste. 360
Police authorities have
received complaints whereby the phone number of (514) 340-9909,
was referenced to Consumer Catalogue Distributors.
Plaintiffs know Consumer
Catalogue Distributors as an outfit that attempted to re-victimize
them, after they had already been "taken" by previous
telemarketers.
The Plaintiffs plead that
Consumer Catalogue Distributors is yet another one of the many
company names used by the Syndicate as a vehicle for fraud.
After the Plaintiffs sent
monies to the Syndicate via Weinstein and Blouin, the Syndicate
sent out "Class-E" shares to their victims in order
to make the payments appear as charitable donations, or alternatively,
sales of shares of corporate stock of the "Second Glance
Help And Support Service Workers Cooperative."
Second Glance Cooperative
is not registered with the Ontario Securities Commission for
the sale of stock to the public.
Weinstein and Blouin used
award certificates from "Heritage Group" in deceiving
the Plaintiffs with false prizes.
Heritage Group used the
telephone number of (514) 342-4101.
Heritage Group is a name
that is well-known to police authorities as being involved with
fraudulent telemarketing operations.
The telephone number (514)
342-4101 was registered to R. Dery, at a residential address.
The telephone number (514)
342-4101 was answered by an answering machine with the voice
mail stating that this was a company in the name of "Heritage
Group."
The Plaintiffs plead that
the telephone number (514) 342-4101 was a number used in the
scam whereby they were told that their monies would be refunded
out of the "Cap Can bankruptcy" if only they would
send additional monies to 7455 Boul St. Anne, Montreal, QC, H4B
1T5.
The Plaintiffs plead that
the telephone number (514) 342-4101 was also used in attempts
to obtain monies from victims under the name of Second Glance
Cooperative.
The Syndicate’s front men,
Weinstein and Blouin, advised their victims that Millenium One
was a division of Second Glance Cooperative.
Government records disclose
that Second Glance Cooperative was not authorized to use the
name Millenium One.
The Plaintiffs plead that
Blouin allowed the wholly inoperative endorsements on payments
to Second Glance Cooperative and caused payments to be diverted
to Weinstein.
The Plaintiffs plead that
such wholly inoperative endorsements are forgeries within the
meaning of the Bills of Exchange Act, R.S.C. 1985.
When a rift developed between
Blouin and Weinstein, Blouin assaulted Weinstein. Weinstein notified
the police of this matter.
St. Hippolyte was a quiet
village in the outskirts of Montreal.
The crime rate in St. Hippolyte
has increased since Blouin and Weinstein opened Second Glance
Cooperative.
The Need for Exemplary
Damages for the Protection of the Public
Victims of telemarketing
fraud are not being protected under the Competition Act because
the Competition Bureau does not have the resources to prosecute
boiler-room operators.
Between April 1 and September
30 1997, the Competition Bureau received 538 criminal matter
complaints. However, none were referred to the Attorney General.
Between April 1 and September
30 1997, the Competition Bureau received 2,859 marketing practices
complaints. However, only 6 inquiries were started and only 1
was referred to the Attorney General.
According to the Competition
Bureau’s Annual Report ending March 31 1996, only 8 out of 6,751
complaints to their Bureau were investigated.
On or about 29 June 1998,
Ontario Asst. Crown Attorney Hugh Paisley stated that – as a
policy – their department does not prosecute white-collar crime
because the Crown only has enough resources to prosecute "violent" criminals.
This statement was made at the National Forum on Fraud.
On or about 28 June 1998,
RCMP commissioner Phillip Murray stated that the RCMP only resources
to track down 1 out of 18 known major criminal groups. This was
reported in the Globe and Mail.
RCMP commissioner Murray
further stated that the criminals were "on a roll," and
that the RCMP was "not resourced to really have a serious,
concerted attack on organized crime. If we’re focusing on one
group, the rest of them have a free run."
On or about 26 October
1998, an RCMP officer stated - in a CBC News documentary on telemarketing
fraud – that the RCMP only investigates about 10% of reported
telemarketing fraud.
On or about 26 October
1998, a former Toronto Police Fraud Squad officer stated – in
a CBC News documentary on telemarketing fraud – that their officers
were practically laughed at by telemarketers, as these telemarketers
knew about the lack of police resources to investigate telemarketing
fraud. In some instances, the police officers had to ask the
telemarketers to ‘please return the money’ to victims. The former
officer further stated that he believed that fraudulent telemarketers
had the perception that they were "beyond prosecution."
Police estimate that Quebec-based
telemarketing fraud at $40M-$80M per year.
On or about 29 June 1998,
leaders of the elderly community present at a national forum
on scams and frauds stated their belief that the elderly are
especially vulnerable to fraud because of their weakened cognitive
ability. These leaders included Yves Poirier of the Poirier Foundation,
a noted charitable organization.
On, or about 29 June 1998,
Detective Barry Elliott of OPP Operation Phonebusters stated
that about 80% of telemarketing fraud victims are elderly.
Standard textbooks consulted
by Social Workers State that people who are in grief have temporary
loss of cognitive ability and "should not make any important
decisions."
Many victims of Quebec-based
telemarketing fraud are such persons in grief, and hence, are
especially vulnerable to frauds.
The Plaintiffs plead that
speed is required in the dispensation of justice in this case,
as most of them are very advanced in their years and may not
live to see the end of a prolonged court procedure. The Plaintiffs
plead that speed is necessary in the court’s determination of
this case, as several of them are of extremely fragile health
and are undergoing cancer or coronary care.
On or about 20 November
1998, RCMP Staff Sgt. Peter Montague raided a Burnaby, BC-based
telemarketing operation, seizing a reported $4M in assets. However,
Sgt. Montague did not arrest anyone because, "the prosecution
would have taken years."
On or about 20 November
1998, RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff Wright, describing telemarketers’ modus
operandi, stated, "The problem is they become, in some of
these cases, their [victims’] best friend. They’ll believe them
over anybody else." Sgt. Wright’s comments were reported
and published in The Province, a newspaper.
Some victims and at least
one social worker believe that Quebec-based telemarketing fraudsters
may be using the obituaries as "sales leads" for their
telemarketing campaigns.
Many of the Plaintiffs
live alone, and hence, are especially vulnerable to fraud. The
Plaintiffs plead that the Syndicate’s telemarketers prey on the
loneliness of victims. This allegation is supported by the notes
made by telemarketers at the time of their calls. These notes
were found at telemarketing boiler rooms used by the Syndicate.
The actions by these telemarketing
fraudsters are reprehensible and call for large exemplary and
punitive damages as a deterrent, to protect the public from further
similar harmful deceit to the public.
Suite 410 at 5250 Decarie
is a well-known location to police authorities. A roomful of
papers nearly 3 inches thick that was abandoned by the Syndicate
reveals that thousands of people were being actively telemarketed,
catalogued, and indexed in a systematic campaign. A "sales
chart" left behind by the Syndicate reveal that this location
alone could produce millions in annualized revenue for the Syndicate.
This sales chart showed names and revenues produced by individual
members of the Syndicate.
Sales literature and documents
used by the Syndicate discovered at Suite 410, 5250 Decarie belonged
to a myriad of company names and addresses. The Plaintiffs plead
that these seemingly unrelated companies in fact belong to the
Syndicate.
The Plaintiffs plead that
the Syndicate left these incriminating documents at former boiler
room locations with studied abandon because the members of the
Syndicate believe that the authorities would not have the resources
to prosecute them criminally.
Deceptive and predatory
activities by telemarketers against seniors are a practice that
has been universally condemned. The Plaintiffs plead that only
large exemplary and punitive damages will serve as deterrence,
in order to protect the public interest.
|