Covert Operation Nets Telemarketers WASHINGTON (AP) -- A 2 1/2-year federal and state investigation in which undercover agents taped telephone solicitations has produced criminal charges against nearly 1,000 telemarketers, Attorney General Janet Reno announced Thursday. More than 40 telemarketers were arrested and more than 20 sites searched by agents on Thursday alone, Reno told a news conference. Operation Double Barrel was ``the most extensive operation ever directed at dishonest telemarketing,'' Reno said. FBI agents, retired agents and senior citizens recruited by the American Association of Retired Persons posed as previous victims, who frequently are contacted again by telemarketers in ``reload'' scams. They recorded the calls for evidence. ``Now each time a telemarketer picks up the phone, they are taking a risk. When telemarketers call, we have often answered,'' Reno said. ``But we cannot become complacent. We've got to see what they get into next.'' Since Double Barrel began in July 1996, 795 people have been charged with federal crimes, including wire and mail fraud, money laundering and racketeering, and 194 others have been charged with state crimes in 14 states. An additional 394 people have been sued in civil actions. Federal convictions have resulted in some prison sentences as long as 14 and 20 years. The investigation was joined by 20 U.S. attorney's offices, 21 FBI field offices, 35 state attorneys general, the Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. ``Our reach is now national in scope,'' said Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker. ``But to say we've cured the problem would be a misstatement.'' ``I believe we are having a significant impact,'' said deputy assistant FBI director Ted Jackson, noting that the probe reached into 38 states. The operation grew out of an earlier, smaller effort, Operation Senior Sentinel, which ended in 1995. Senior Sentinel was the first undercover effort directed at telemarketing fraud. It investigated 180 telemarketing ``boiler rooms'' concentrated in Buffalo, N.Y., Chattanooga, Tenn., and Las Vegas and convicted 598 individuals. Jonathan Rusch, Justice Department special counsel for fraud prevention, explained that ``those who were not arrested then moved into smaller scale, more mobile operations, like investment scams and `recovery rooms'.'' `Recovery room' operations tell victims of previous scams they can obtain refunds if they pay a fee. Often these crooks pose as FBI, IRS or Customs agents. Reno described one in which a telemarketer called a previous victim pretending to be an FBI agent trying to catch the earlier telemarketer. The counterfeit agent mailed a phony court order to the victim purporting to authorize a wiretap of the victim's telephone. Next, the crook called back using a different voice and promised to recover the victim's loss for a 10 percent fee, Reno said. In a third call, the crook again posed as an FBI agent and urged the victim to send the money so the telemarketer could be caught red-handed. ``Anyone who calls you, tells you they're from the FBI, and asks you to pay a fee so they can get your money back, is lying,'' Reno said. ``No federal or state law enforcement agency will ever charge fraud victims a dime when they try to get money back for victims.'' AARP president-elect Tess Canja said 56 percent of telemarketing victims are elderly, often active, outgoing and well-educated. ``They are very trusting,'' Canja said. Her group trains people to spot illegitimate pitches and hang up. The state attorneys general were from: Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
