https://www.cpr.org/2024/10/01/boulder-man-sentenced-mail-fraud-scheme/
A Boulder man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a scheme targeting millions of consumers in mail fraud.
In U.S. District Court in Colorado on Monday, former Epsilon Data Management, LLC, senior executive Robert Reger received a 120-month prison sentence for mail and wire fraud. An Epsilon business development manager, David Lytle of Leawood, Kansas, was sentenced to 48 months in prison. The two men were convicted of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and numerous counts of substantive mail fraud on May 31 following a two-week trial.
“[Monday’s] sentences should make clear that those who illegally use Americans’ personal information to facilitate fraud will face serious consequences.” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department will investigate and prosecute individuals who use their access to our personal data to target vulnerable Americans for their own gain.”
Attorneys presented evidence that showed that Reger and Lytle committed their crimes over the course of a 10-year period while working for Epsilon, which is headquartered in Irving, Texas. Its principal sales office is located in Westminster, Colorado.
Authorities said the two used transactional data collected from marketing clients to predict new “responsive buyers” using computer algorithms and a database of 100 million U.S households to predict and sell those lists to consumers most likely to respond to the fraud schemes. Elderly and vulnerable people were targeted in the scheme. The victims were sent scam letters promising large prizes or wealth.
“Far too often, we prosecute cases where criminals prey on the elderly and vulnerable,” said Acting U.S Attorney Matt Kirsch for the District of Colorado. “This sentence demonstrates that those who exploit the most vulnerable in our society for financial gain are prosecuted and held accountable for their despicable actions.”
According to Epilson’s data, many of the victims were repeatedly defrauded by the scheme. More than 12,000 victims were defrauded more than 20 times each.
Epsilon paid $150 million in penalties, including $127.5 million in victim compensation as part of a deferred prosecution agreement in 2021. So far, the victim compensation effort returned $122 million to more than 200,000 victims of the fraud scheme.