Federal mail and wire fraud charges have been filed against two Canadian men for their alleged roles in a cross-border telemarketing scam.
Gilles Maisonneuve and Mitchell Karachinsky bilked U.S. consumers of $5 million with a fraudulent lottery, according to U.S. attorneys. Maisonneuve was arrested in Montreal on Sunday by Canadian police and Mitchell Karachinsky is still at large, U.S. Attorneys continued.
According to a complaint filed in Boston, the pair and their employees called American citizens and told them that they had won a large prize. They added, however, had to pay a tax or fee to collect.
Victims were directed to send the money to a mail drop address in Canada or to wire the funds to an offshore bank account.
The two were charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud. Each count could lead to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine.
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