Telephony Fraudster Gets Lifetime Ban from Telecom Business

coondoggie passed us another NetworkWorld link, this one discussing the banning of a shady telecom tycoon convicted for 'cramming'. "The owner of three companies that billed more than $30 million in bogus collect call charges, an activity known as cramming, to millions of consumers throughout the country, has been banned forever from all billing on local telephone bills. Willoughby Farr agreed to the lifetime ban as part of a federal court order settling Federal Trade Commission charges that he directed a massive unauthorized billing scam for more than two and a half years. The settlement contains a monetary judgment of $34,547,140, which will be partially satisfied by Farr's transfer to the Commission of all but $7,500 of his frozen assets, the FTC said."

Market prices

[KublaiKhan (522918)]

So what's it cost to set up a 419-scam workshop in a west African country these days? About $7000?

Re:Market prices

[DahGhostfacedFiddlah (470393)]

YES IT COSTS US$7000 TO SET UP GUARANTEED MONEY MAKING SCAM. WE WISH TO START SUCH A SCAM. HOWEVER, BY VIRTUE OF OUR POSITION AS CIVIL SERVANTS AND MEMBERS OF THIS PANEL, WE CANNOT ACQUIRE THIS MONEY IN OUR NAMES. I HAVE THEREFORE, BEEN DELEGATED AS A MATTER OF TRUST BY MY COLLEAGUES OF THE PANEL TO LOOK FOR AN OVERSEAS PARTNER INTO WHOSE ACCOUNT WE WOULD TRANSFER THE SUM OF US$21,320,000.00(TWENTY ONE MILLION, THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND U.S DOLLARS). HENCE WE ARE WRITING YOU THIS LETTER. WE HAVE AGREED TO SHARE THE MONEY THUS; 1. 20% FOR THE ACCOUNT OWNER 2. 70% FOR US (THE OFFICIALS) 3. 10% TO BE USED IN SETTLING TAXATION AND ALL LOCAL AND FOREIGN EXPENSES. IT IS FROM THE 70% THAT WE WISH TO COMMENCE THE SCAM.

PLEASE,NOTE THAT THIS TRANSACTION IS 100% SAFE AND WE HOPE TO COMMENCE THE TRANSFER LATEST SEVEN (7) BANKING DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE RECEIPT OF THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIOM BY TEL/FAX; 234-1-7740449, YOUR COMPANY'S SIGNED, AND STAMPED LETTERHEAD PAPER THE ABOVE INFORMATION WILL ENABLE US WRITE LETTERS OF CLAIM AND JOB DESCRIPTION RESPECTIVELY. THIS WAY WE WILL USE YOUR COMPANY'S NAME TO APPLY FOR PAYMENT AND RE-AWARD THE CONTRACT IN YOUR COMPANY'S NAME.

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO DOING THIS BUSINESS WITH YOU AND SOLICIT YOUR CONFIDENTIALITY IN THIS TRANSATION. PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE THE RECEIPT OF THIS LETTER USING THE ABOVE TEL/FAX NUMBERS. I WILL SEND YOU DETAILED INFORMATION OF THIS PENDING PROJECT WHEN I HAVE HEARD FROM YOU.

YOURS FAITHFULLY,

DR CLEMENT OKON

NOTE; PLEASE QUOTE THIS REFERENCE NUMBER (VE/S/09/99) IN ALL YOUR RESPONSES

That's a fine?

[IronChef (164482)]

The settlement contains a monetary judgment of $34,547,140, which will be partially satisfied by Farr's transfer to the Commission of all but $7,500 of his frozen assets, the FTC said.

He billed about $30M in false charges... and it seems like that money is being used to pay the fine.

Please, someone tell me I am wrong.

Re:That's a fine?

[raju1kabir (251972)]

Unfortunately, he only had about $700K in assets, so he's really repaying about 2% of it. The rest went up his nose or something.

Re:

[Mr. Underbridge (666784)]

Unfortunately, he only had about $700K in assets, so he's really repaying about 2% of it. The rest went up his nose or something.

You may seize my assets, but you can't erase the memories of night after night spent with mountains of coke and all the hookers my Viagra-riddled knob can handle!

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[pilgrim23 (716938)]

so...he screws us (meaning consumers) and the Feds take his ill gotten boodle? He is in reality a revenue stream generator for money to a fed alphabet soup? this trend is common in many fields; Steal, relinquish money to a Fed fine, plea bargin, released; start new company, mix and repeat

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[Harmonious Botch (921977)]

30 Miliion??? For that amount he should be banned from breathing.

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[flyingsquid (813711)]

30 Miliion??? For that amount he should be banned from breathing.

Come on, go easy on the guy. He's clearly suffered quite a bit already, if he's had to go through his entire life with the first name "Willoughby".

Re:

[tompaulco (629533)]

So the judgement amounts to, "Give it all back and promise never to do it again"?
No, it's "Give it all to the government and promise never to do it again." Meanwhile, the people who were scammed are still out $30 million.

give me a break

[by Anonymous Coward]

So, lets see... If i smoke a joint in some states i go to jail. If i bilk millions of people out of tens of millions of dollars i get.... probation, and a fine.

This is so bs, asswipe(s) should be thrown in jail. Sounds like someone's back got scratched.

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[TubeSteak (669689)]

So, lets see... If i smoke a joint in some states i go to jail. If i bilk millions of people out of tens of millions of dollars i get.... probation, and a fine.

There has never been any national hysteria over white collar crime in the same way that there has been over drugs. National condemnation of white collar crimes... yes. Hysteria, no.

Don't forget that this case is being settled, not taken all the way to a jury verdict.

Wrong prespective

[geekoid (135745)]

What he got was fine for the crime. Basically fines of all the money, not allowed to work in the industry.
Punishment fits the crime, and taxes don't go into keeping him in prison.

The problem is that smoking a joint laws are too tough.

Re:

[nexuspal (720736)]

The punishment surely does not fit the crime. No jail time? This is absurd, and absurd you would support this obvious miscarriage of justice due to appearant cronyism. The hurt caused by this mans actions far exceed whatever value he had to society. He should get 10 years minimum...

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[Bloke down the pub (861787)]

And not in some cushy, white-collar joint.

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[nexuspal (720736)]

It's called the Punishment part of our legal system. It helps society because it shows that if you hurt x number of people, you will be hurt back proportionally, not just fined for 2 percent of what you stole. Sentences like this make me want to rip people off as well, because the consequences of getting caught are low, and if caught, the punishment will be nill. Punishment is meant to deter this from happening again, and absense of punishment will just add fuel to the fire. Hope that answered your ques

Re:

[AuMatar (183847)]

He didn't pay nearly what was lost, so no it doesn't fit the crime. In addition it lends no reason why others shouldn't do it in the future- why shouldn't I commit massive fraud if there's no real punishment other than returning to square 1 at the end?

He should e forced to work on a chain gain and like in a 6x8 box until he's paid off the 30M plus a major fine. At minimum wage, I expect that to take him a few centuries.

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[MorpheousMarty (1094907)]

He should go to jail, but to be honest all he took was money. There are certain murderous criminals that have caused the death of thousands who still have their job, and money. Just saying, seeing as we have a finite amount of prison space, lets save it for people for whom it is dangerous to be around. Taking everything this guy has is a good start.

No, you give me a break

[swb (14022)]

So when I kick down your door and wave a pistol in your face but walk away with only money, "all I took was money"? And I get off with just a fine?

I think the pass that's given to white collar crooks in the U.S. is just sad; all it does is promote the bullshit technical legalism that passes for morality as well as furthering the business philosophy that technical manipulation of markets and the financial system is the same as real business, let alone industry.

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[x_MeRLiN_x (935994)]

Did he say that? Or did say the complete opposite? I think anyone that kicks down a door and waves a pistol about with the intention of robbing someone is in the "dangerous" group he implied should be put in prison. Having $5-8 dollars taken from you through unfair call charges might spoil your day. What you describe might affect the victim for their whole life. I'm not defending this guy, but to group him with armed robbers is a bit of a stretch.

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[petermgreen (876956)]

I always find it odd that most people have a much stronger reaction to crimes that do a lot of damage to one person (rape, kidnapping, murder, arson etc) than to crimes that do a small ammount of damage each to a very large groups of people (like this one) even though the total damage in this case is massive and by some calculations is more significant than a single murder.

lets say the average salary is $30000 that means he stole a THOUSAND YEARs worth of average salery. If we assume a working lifetime is 5

Re:

[KefabiMe (730997)]

on 03-05-08 01:30 PM (#22655468) So, lets see... If i smoke a joint in some states i go to jail. If i bilk millions of people out of tens of millions of dollars i get.... probation, and a fine. This is so bs, asswipe(s) should be thrown in jail. Sounds like someone's back got scratched.

I strongly disagree. The solution is to not send stoners to jail. Nonviolent criminals should not be sent to prison. The US has more people behind bars than any other country in the world, including China. We also lead the

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[dissy (172727)]

I strongly disagree. The solution is to not send stoners to jail. Nonviolent criminals should not be sent to prison. The US has more people behind bars than any other country in the world, including China. We also lead the world in prisoners per capita; over 1% of our population is behind bars.

I do believe in what you said 100%, and all but two words are painfully true.
But please don't try to make it sound like the US is worse than china.

Yes, the US system is broken very very badly. It desperately needs fixed. Many laws should be relaxed if not totally removed.

But the reason we have more people in prison than china is because that same number of people in china are simply killed, if not by sentence, then directly on the spot with nothing close to a trial.

Good!

[Bobb Sledd (307434)]

What a great "call" on the judge's part.

It was even "collect."

Classic.

How much to the Consumer?

[Farakin (1101889)]

Why isn't this money being refunded to the consumer? When I read stories like this, and the ones where the FCC levies fines for unacceptable practices I see the consumers that were affected getting screwed. I may be missing something here, but I AM ANGRY!!

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[plague3106 (71849)]

Well, personally if a collect call appeared on my bill I'd dispute it. I would hope others do the same. If you can't be bothered to look at your bill, oh well.

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[TooMuchToDo (882796)]

I would assume this only applies to land lines, as you can't collect call a cellphone (can you?).

Re:How much to the Consumer?

[veganboyjosh (896761)]

I checked this out a while ago. My sister spent some time locked up, and I wanted to be able to receive collect calls from her. She tried calling my cell number a few times, but was told the number wouldn't accept them. I never got a call. I called T-Mobile to "activate" a collect call um...authorization/ability/whatever, and was informed that I couldn't accept collect calls on my phone. Even if I wanted to. The CSR told me they didn't have the ability to allow it, due to customers denying collect call charges once they appeared on the bill. I couldn't tell if it was just a policy to turn collect call receiving off to begin with, and with a little pushing they'd allow them, but after 30 minutes of going up their chain of command, and no different answer, I gave up.

I'm sure someone else here knows more about this than me (or the not-so-helpful T-Mobile CSR's.)

Re:

[TooMuchToDo (882796)]

Thanks for the input. I'm also a T-mobile customer, and since I asked my question on Slashdot, did about 20 minutes of research on the web. It appears almost all major cellphone providers in the US disallow collect calls. I understand that there are limited situations in where someone would need to make a collect call, but as you've illustrated, those cases still exist and need to be accommodated.

Whose lifetime, his or the industry's?

[davidwr (791652)]

The "Local telephone bill" as an entity probably won't around in another 10 or 20 years.

Either he's turned a new leaf or he's hasn't. If he has, the ban is moot. If he hasn't, he'll find another way to be a crook.

$7,500? Won't someone think of the scumbags?

[Reality Master 201 (578873)]

I mean, the man's nearly destitute now. How's he supposed to start up a different set of fraud companies with just $7,500?

What's the world coming to?

Re:

[geekoid (135745)]

fraud companies are cheep to set up.
No legal paper work, leases on equipment based on the credit of your new sham company.

A motivated could set up a phone scheme fraud for nothing, not pay any of the bills, and make a lot of money in a month and then disappear.

Why is this legal?

[og_sh0x (520297)]

Can someone tell me why it's even legal to put these charges on the phone bill? On more than one occasion I've had to deal with services being crammed this way, and I don't even think it was from this guy, the service that billed me was not mentioned in TFA. Why should we allow this sleaze to continue? Does anyone know of a way to opt out of this, similar to declining long distance and 1-900 calls on your phone?

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[tompaulco (629533)]

I once had a bogus charge on my local bill. It was for a sports hotline. I have not interest in sports, so obviously did not call it. I called and complained to the phone company, who said they could not remove the charge (why not. you put it there.) They said I had to call the company directly. Why? I have no relationship with them. So I called them and they said that basically computers don't make mistakes and if it says I called then I called. I told them I wouldn't pay, and they said that they would put

Why not the death penalty?

[wytcld (179112)]

When someone commits theft on this level, why not kill him? In some states we have "three strikes, you're out" laws, with a lifetime in jail for the third crime. This guy committed literally millions of crimes. To keep things in proportion, he should be killed. That's presuming he's guilty beyond reasonable doubt, of course.

Now, you could say the "three strikes" thing is three convictions, not three crimes. But there's nothing to stop the prosecutors from prosecuting each crime singly. Get to the third conviction, jail him for life; get to the Xth, kill him. Simple. Fair. Proportional.

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[wild_berry (448019)]

We disagree as to whether killing people is an appropriate response to crime (c'mon, you can do better: gulags can be a punishment worse than death!). But even when you believe that capital punishment is an appropriate response, he's only inconvenienced people, not killed anyone. Nor has he physically harmed anyone. You could even argue that the crammed bills are most often accepted as legitimate and paid in full, making his work near to victimless. But $34m in funds not due him was collected, and his anti-

Re:

[geekoid (135745)]

First off, nobody gets killed for fraud, not should they.
Second, there is no reason to spend more money locking him up for this on convictions.
Third, it's three convictions, not crimes.
Forth, no individual crime is worth prosecuting them individually.

"Simple. Fair. Proportional."
It's none of those.

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[Bastard of Subhumani (827601)]

First off, nobody gets killed for fraud, not should they.

True, we need to keep a sense of proportion here. How about a strike with a split bamboo cane? Per victim, of course.

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[Dogtanian (588974)]

Much as I find this guy's behaviour odious (and consider that he probably got off lightly), why do I get the feeling that your allegedly "Simple. Fair. Proportional." solution to this problem is in fact just the usual Slashdotter's pseudo-logic being used to justify your underlying bloodthirsty desire to see this guy hang?

Or let me put it another way. You felt that the guy deserved to die for what he'd done and *then* you tried to justify it "logically"- I'm damn willing to bet that it wasn't the other wa

Re:

[Creepy Crawler (680178)]

I believe he was using a somewhat uncommon tactic of bringing a concept to its absurd extreme.

3 strikes and prison for life. 10 strikes and death. Stuff like that.

However, I'm the kind of person who says that people who do violent crimes that we DO kill them for should not be killed. People who do acts of serial murder or other mass killings are by definition mentally instable, and capitally punishing insanes is unconstitutional.

I'm still for capital punishment for treason though. I've yet to see a reasonab

"... directed a massive unauthorized billing scam"

[slashdotlurker (1113853)]

You mean to tell me that there are authorized billing scams ? I get it, that must be my monthly cellphone bill.

Re:"... directed a massive unauthorized billing sc

[ScrewMaster (602015)]

You mean to tell me that there are authorized billing scams ? I get it, that must be my monthly cellphone bill.

Monthly phone bill, period. It's not like the Telcos manage their landline billing practices any more honestly than the cell phone companies do. Hell, a few years ago I moved, and had SBC come out to hook up my new lines. I got a bill for $350 for "installation" (after having been promised a thirty dollar charge.) According to SBC, the technician spent almost a whole day "wiring" my house. Which

Re:

[drinkypoo (153816)]

I went out and bought a punchdown block and did it myself the right way, after spending three hundred and fifty bucks to have them not do it.

You should have threatened to sue and sic the FCC on them. The FCC loves to crawl up telcos' asses looking for places to attach a fine.

Great, who's next?

[TClevenger (252206)]

Now can we go after the scumbags that charge eight bucks a minute for collect calls without warning about it?

Re:Can someone explain?

[spleen_blender (949762)]

Because he is a human being who still needs a means to be a productive member of society unless you want him to fall into the shady underbelly of crime as most other people in prison do when they are released.

Re:

[LaskoVortex (1153471)]

My guess is that this person has no morals and he has thus been alloted $7500 to start another scam business.

Most people in prison are there not because of bad morals but because of factors relating to drug use. Unlike the vast, immoral fraud committed here, drug use is treated as a crime punishable by prison and is not treated as a health issue [cnn.com], as it should be. If these fraudsters were sent to prison, they might not reform, but they certainly would pay for their crime. When was the last time a judge sa

Re:

[spun (1352)]

When was the last time a judge said to a drug addict "spit it up and we'll let you go"?

Last Friday. Wait, a judge? Well, the talking camel did claim to be a judge, but the chocolate fish said he was more of an arbitrator...

Insightful?

[HornWumpus (783565)]

I know lots of human beings, including me, that have at one time or another worked crappy jobs with no more then $20 in the bank at the end of the month.

So can this scumbag. For the rest of his life. Losing most of his paltry check to garnishment every pay period. Hopefully he can find a nice refrigerator box to live in for all I care.

Let him suck it up. He's lucky he's not in 'pound him in the ass prison'. He would be if I were in charge. The prisoners families get financially raped every time they ma

Re:

[spleen_blender (949762)]

And that accomplishes nothing as we can clearly see by the recidivism rates of today's criminal justice system. Two wrongs do NOT make a right.

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[spleen_blender (949762)]

Also, you probably did this with already having a mode of transportation and a place to stay. You weren't dropped into the workforce with NOTHING, you at least had some infrastructure supporting you, even if it was meager, and $7,500 goes away VERY quickly when it is used to get yourself on your feet.

Re:Legal question

[Servo5678 (468237)]

That depends. Who is your daddy and what does he do?