A Texas Man Has Been Accused Of Running A Telemarketing Scam

A Texas man has been taken into custody, and accused of defrauding people in a $1.2 million-dollar telemarketing scheme that targeted hundreds of people.

Fox 26 is reporting that both the Pearland Police Department and the FBI have been investigating two different companies which were owned by Michael Laurendeau.  Investigators believe that he and his co-conspirators defrauded 134 people in a telemarketing scheme from January 2015 to August 2019.  Last Friday, Laurendeau was arrested in Houston, and was charged with ‘conspiracy to commit mail fraud’, and 14 additional counts of mail fraud.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Texas, Laurendeau has been accused of running a telemarketing operation that convinced people that they were entitled to unclaimed money from prior investments in either websites or webpage domains.  None of his victims saw a return on their investments, and many of them were over the age of 55.   He’s also been accused of using several different aliases and convincing his victims to send additional checks.

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ABC 13 is reporting that the victims were instructed to send either certified checks or money orders to E-Business Financial LLC, and Blue Star Hosting LLC, which are both owned by Laurendeau. Investigators believe that he collected around 1.2 million dollars from 134 victims in the telemarking scheme.  Court documents show that the money collected was spent on trips, dinners, a car, and other items.

After he was taken into custody, Laurendeau appeared before a judge and is now facing multiple federal charges.  If he’s convicted, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison and be fined up to $250,000 for each charge.