DOJ Reveals North American Telemarketing Crackdown
Law enforcement agencies made more than 135 arrests in a cross-border sweep of telemarketing fraud, the U.S. Department of Justice announced this week.Dubbed "Operation Roaming Charge," the sweep netted 100 arrests in the United States and 35 in Canada. There have been 70 criminal convictions in the United States, and state attorneys general have brought another 279 criminal, civil and regulatory actions.
The sweep, which began Jan. 1, was the "most extensive" multinational enforcement effort ever aimed at telemarketers, the Justice Department said. Participating were the U.S. attorney general, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Postal Inspector, U.S. Immigration and Customs, Federal Trade Commission and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, plus other law enforcement and regulatory agencies in the United States and Canada.
Law enforcement officers conducted 100 investigations and executed more than 190 search warrants in the crackdown. The investigation revealed 5 million victims and total losses by consumers exceeding $1 billion.
