Michael McNeill, 48, of Phoenix, Arizona, and Joshua Flynn, 36, of Chandler, Arizona, are headed to federal prison for masterminding a sprawling telemarketing fraud operation that ripped off over 4,000 victims nationwide — including 91 from across Missouri. McNeill was sentenced to 120 months behind bars; Flynn to 84 months. Both were ordered to pay full restitution and forfeit assets gained through the fraud.
The scam, which stretched from Arizona into Missouri and beyond, generated more than $20,000,000 in fraudulent sales. Elderly victims were systematically targeted with false promises of lucrative business opportunities that never materialized. Victims in Chesterfield, University City, St. Louis, Hannibal, Arnold, Potosi, Ballwin, Valley Park, Florissant, O’Fallon, St. Clair, and Farmington lost a combined $1,000,000. The con was slick, relentless, and nationwide in reach.
On November 20, 2017, McNeill, also known as Mr. White and Todd Lockwood, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court before Judge John Ross to one count of wire fraud tied to telemarketing and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. That same day, Flynn, who used the aliases Mr. Pink and Jeff Thomas, entered identical guilty pleas. Both men admitted their roles in organizing and leading the criminal enterprise.
The operation ran under multiple fake business names and shell entities, including Smart Business Pros LLC, registered in Warson Woods, Missouri. These fronts masked the true nature of the scheme: a high-volume boiler-room operation that cold-called victims across the U.S. and Canada, pressuring them into paying thousands for phantom business ventures that existed only on paper.
To hide their trail, McNeill and Flynn laundered millions through complex financial maneuvers — including using criminal proceeds to buy gold and silver coins. The precious metals were then distributed directly to the two ringleaders, a final layer of greed in a scheme built on deception. Investigators called the laundering method sophisticated, deliberate, and designed to evade detection.
The case was pursued by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the Office of the Arizona Attorney General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Birmingham and Gwendolyn Carroll prosecuted. For the victims — many of them seniors living on fixed incomes — the damage was personal. The sentences mark a rare moment of justice in the shadow of a $20 million fraud.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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