Texas Court Finds 3 Guilty In Call Center Fraud Operation

If you're a mobile phone user, there’s a solid chance that you have dealt with scam calls from suspicious agents or automated call systems over the last few years. It seems that, despite numerous counter measures being taken by telecom service providers, software developers, and government agencies, scammers always have a way of getting their call across to unsuspecting victims. While the problem will likely continue to be a problem for the foreseeable future, the state of Texas managed to successfully crack down on one  major criminal operation.

According to official reports from the U.S. Attorneys Office of the Eastern District of Texas, three Texans pleaded guilty to “aiding and abetting an unlicensed money transmitting business” after running an illegal call center operation that exploited elderly victims. The criminals involved successfully managed to manipulate call recipients by instructing them to make payments to businesses, banks, and government programs.

The three scammers in question, Mary Elizabeth Beaman Booth(40), Ronnie Duane Booth(38), and Tracey Brookshier(52) managed to steal an estimated $3.2 million from around 2,000 victims, with the elderly making up a significant portion of that number. While this trial is certainly an important step for cracking down on phone scammers, it demonstrates how successful these fraud operations can be if they are not stopped quickly. This particular situation also points out how elderly mobile customers should be better shielded from these attacks, as less tech-savvy individuals are more likely to fall victim to similar scam attempts.

“Defrauding elder persons of their life savings deprives them of a secure future and causes significant emotional distress to both the victim and their families,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.  “EDTX is committed to holding accountable those who unconscionably prey on our senior citizens and other vulnerable populations.”

Elderly individuals who have been victimized by call center fraud can call the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311) to receive support from experienced professionals.

Edited by Maurice Nagle