Florida man sentenced to jail 21 years for phony phone charges of $31million

WASHINGTON - Carol Forsloff - "This case should also remind consumers to carefully review their
telephone bills for unauthorized charges," said the Justice Department
after sending a man to jail for $35 million in fraudulent phone charges.

Willoughby Farr, 46, of West Palm Beach, Florida was sentenced on
Thursday to 21 years in prison for a crime called "cramming," which
involves illegally placing charges on customer telephone bills for
collect calls never made.

The scheme took place during the period April 2003 to December 2005 when
Farr used three West Palm Beach companies, Nationwide Connections Inc.,
Access One Communications Inc. and Connect One Communications Inc. to
defraud customers.  He used these companies to bill people for nearly
$35 million in collect calls.  These charges were on the back pages of
telephone bills, where many people don't look.

Farr entered a
guilty plea on two counts of mail fraud connected with the scheme and
admitted it had taken place while he was in the West Palm Beach County
Jail.  He didn't admit at the time his ownership of the three
communication companies.  He had been cut off being able to bill for
calls due to customer complaints and the fact that state regulators had
caught up with him.

  

“When the unscrupulous and the dishonest line their pockets with
consumers’ hard-earned money, we will hold them accountable,” said Tony
West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the
Department of Justice.   “As this sentence demonstrates, the Justice
Department has put a priority on protecting the public from fraudulent
schemes.

 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2006 brought a cramming suit
against several individuals and companies, including Farr.  Farr
received a $34,547,140 judgment against him.T

 

“The Postal Inspection Service did a superb job investigating this
case,” said Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District
of Florida. “The FTC first uncovered this scheme and brought it to the
Justice Department’s attention.   The case demonstrates the
effectiveness of cooperative law enforcement efforts which can put an
end to fraudulent schemes, and then bring wrongdoers to justice.”

 

“Crammers like Farr are eager to post bogus charges to consumers’
accounts,” said Inspector in Charge Henry Gutierrez.   “The Postal
Inspection Service will work tirelessly with its law enforcement
partners to deter fraudulent use of the mails and to protect the
American consumer.”                   

 

The sentence announced today was the result of the collaborative
efforts of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s
Office for the Southern District of Florida, the U.S. Postal Inspection
Service, and the Federal Trade Commission.