Daniel Carrasco, Mail Fraud, Florida 2013

Two Florida residents, Daniel Carrasco, 54, and Federico Martin Gioja, 45, both of Miramar, Fla., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami.

Carrasco and Gioja owned and operated Florida companies that used a telemarketing sales room in Argentina to consistently lie to consumers about products they would receive and to threaten consequences of failure to pay for shipments.

As part of their guilty pleas, Carrasco and Gioja admitted they routinely changed the names of the companies under which they did business to evade consumer complaints, regulators, and law enforcement.

The companies frequently did not deliver products ordered by consumers. Since the companies did not have many of the products they promised to send to consumers, consumers received other products instead.

After consumers refused delivery of the companies’ shipments, the Argentinian phone room telemarketers called and falsely threatened consumers with arrest, deportation, or fines on their gas and electric bills.

Carrasco and Gioja also admitted their telemarketers falsely represented to consumers that they were affiliated with Spanish-language television networks.

The alleged fraud first came to light when the Spanish language network Univision informed the USPIS they believed a company was involved in a fraud scheme in which it misrepresented its affiliation with the network.

Carrasco and Gioja originally were charged by criminal complaint and arrested on June 26, 2013. Both defendants were later indicted on July 25, 2013.

Defendant: Daniel Carrasco and Federico Martin Gioja
Criminal Charges: One count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud
City and State: Miramar, Florida
Exact Date: June 26, 2013 (arrest)
Sentence or Outcome: Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud

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