Phony telemarketers netted $10M, scammed many seniors, indictment filed in East St. Louis says

EAST ST. LOUIS • Nine people have been charged in federal court here for allegedly participating in a phony telemarketing scheme that netted more than $10 million, much of it from people older than 55, prosecutors say.

According to the indictment unsealed earlier this week, from sometime before 2013 and until July 2015, the defendants operated a telemarketing firm that sold false and fictitious “business opportunities,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Illinois said.

The Phoenix-based telemarketing business operated under multiple names and used multiple business entities, including Smart Business Pros LLC of Warson Woods.

Those charged are Michael McNeill, Joshua Flynn, Timothy Murphy, Shawn Casey, Thomas Silha, Jennifer Hansen, Dean Miller, Michael Silver and

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/phony-telemarketers-netted-m-scammed-many-seniors-indictment-filed-in/article_75337678-8880-582f-b76d-1eccb47d7217.html