Florida Man Sentenced for Mail Fraud in Massachusetts

BOSTON – A Florida man was sentenced today in connection with a scheme to defraud 200 people out of more than $700,000.

William Totaro, 61, of Pompano Beach, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William G. Young to 42 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Totaro was also ordered to pay $700,972 in restitution and to forfeit $462,750.

According to authorities, Totaro pleaded guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud in January 2013, admitting to involvement in a business opportunity advance fee scheme involving an entity called Premier Service Group, Inc. (PSG).

Between June 2010 and December 2010, Totaro conspired with co-defendants Lawrence Amirto and Jamon Caswell to defraud victims in a scheme that involved an entity called Premier Service Group, Inc. (PSG). They falsely claimed that PSG provided credit repair services to consumers and advertised in publications throughout the United States the sale of independent businesses whereby affiliates would purchase geographic territories and would receive leads from PSG for potential credit repair clients within those territories.

The affiliates were to contact these leads, describe the services that PSG would provide, sign them up as clients of PSG, and earn commissions. PSG never provided any credit repair service. Instead, many of the newly-recruited affiliates were immediately given the opportunity to recruit additional affiliates. The new affiliates were thereby diverted from learning that there was no actual credit repair business, while soliciting still more affiliates. The funds collected from new affiliates were used for making payments to other affiliates, for expenses associated with the scheme, or for the personal expenses of Totaro, Amirto, and Caswell.

Totaro also admitted to operating similar advanced fee schemes between 2009 and 2011, using the names Snack America and Assisto Coffee. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz, Kevin Niland, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina E. Barclay of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.

Totaro was sentenced to 42 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $700,972 in restitution and to forfeit $462,750. The scheme involved defrauding 200 people out of more than $700,000.

Defendant: William Totaro

Criminal Charges: Conspiracy and Mail Fraud

City and State: BOSTON, Massachusetts

Exact Date: January 2013 (plea), June 2010 – December 2010 (crime), and February 2013 (sentencing)

Sentence or Outcome: 42 months in prison, three years of supervised release, $700,972 in restitution, and $462,750 forfeiture

Dollar Amounts: $700,972 in restitution, $462,750 forfeiture

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