Manhattan Federal Court Sees Six New Jersey Men Charged in Telemarketing Fraud Scheme
Six men from New Jersey have been charged in Manhattan federal court for allegedly swindling elderly victims out of thousands of dollars through a telemarketing fraud scheme. The scheme, which lasted from October 2013 to September 2016, targeted vulnerable seniors with promises of financial returns, only to leave them with significant financial losses.
According to the allegations, Arash Ketabchi, also known as "Zach Peterson," Andrew Owimrin, also known as "Andrew Owens," "Jonathan Stewart," William Sinclair, Michael Finocchiaro, also known as "Michael Foster," Ariel Peralta, and Joseph McGowan, operated a group of telemarketing companies that engaged in the fraudulent scheme. The companies promised victims that they would earn money in exchange for an initial cash "investment" in business development, website design, grant applications, or tax preparation services.
Many victims, the majority of whom are over 70 years old, "invested" thousands of dollars with the telemarketing companies, but did not earn any of the promised returns. When victims sought refunds or fought credit card charges, the telemarketing companies provided explanations and documentation to the credit card companies falsely representing that the victims had received the promised services.
The men were arrested this morning and will be presented before U.S. Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman in Manhattan federal court. Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said, "As alleged, these defendants targeted the elderly, convincing them to ‘invest’ in their businesses with promises of financial returns. In fact, as alleged, these defendants never fulfilled their promises, and instead swindled their victims out of thousands of dollars."
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel M. Melendez added, "For almost three years, these defendants allegedly targeted some of the most vulnerable in our society, the elderly, by running a fraudulent telemarketing scheme that bilked the victims out of several thousands of dollars. It is very important that individuals do their due diligence when deciding to invest with companies. If the promise on returns seems too good to be true, then it probably is."
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the New York City Police Department. The defendants are facing serious charges, including conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
Related Federal Cases
- Six Men Accused in Elderly Telemarketing Swindle · Alabama
- Elderly Targeted: 8 Charged in $10M ‘Tech Support’ Scam · Alabama
- Blue Moon Madam Gets 2 Years for Immigration Scam · Washington
- Yerfri Castillo Pleads Guilty to $2.89M ID Theft Tax Scam · Puerto Rico
- Qureshi Gets 46 Months in $200M Credit Card Scam · New Jersey
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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