MINNEAPOLIS — *The above video first aired on Oct. 25, 2023
The remaining three defendants, including two Minnesotans, in a $300 million nationwide magazine telemarketing case were found guilty by a federal jury in Minneapolis.
Tashena Laverna Crump, 39, of Minneapolis, Ballam Hazeakiah Dudley, 37, of Plymouth and Amondo Antoine Miller, 47, of Littleton, Colorado, were found guilty after the court found they conspired with at least 40 other defendants to scam thousands of elderly and vulnerable people across the country.
The scheme was carried out over the phone and scammed elderly and vulnerable people all over the United States into paying thousands of dollars for magazines from call centers in places like Fridley, St. Louis Park and South Saint Paul.
“This was one of the largest elder fraud schemes in our nation, with over 150,000 elderly victims across the country,” said United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger in a statement. “We are pleased with the verdict. Combating elder fraud and abuse is one of the Justice Department’s top priorities, and we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to combat systemic fraud of our most vulnerable citizens.”
According to court documents, Crump, Dudley and Miller called people who had one or more existing magazine subscriptions and offered to "renew" their subscriptions, often at a reduced cost. The victims, however, were being tricked into signing up for entirely new subscriptions. Some victims were fraudulently billed by as many as 10 companies at a time, and received more than $1,000 in monthly magazine subscription charges, according to Luger. In total, more than 150,000 victims nationwide were scammed out of more than $300 million.
“The perpetrators of this reprehensible scam exhibited a ruthless level of deception and manipulation by targeting vulnerable victims,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr. in a release “This verdict sends a strong message that those who seek to exploit vulnerable Americans will be brought to justice.”
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