PHOENIX - Nine Arizonans are facing federal charges arising from a joint criminal investigation by the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Special Investigations Section, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The federal multi-count indictment was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri is prosecuting this case.
Defendants Michael McNeill, Joshua Flynn, Timothy Murphy, Shawn Casey, Thomas Silha, Jennifer Hansen, Dean Miller, Michael Silver, and John Balleweg are alleged to have participated in a fraudulent telemarketing scheme selling false and fictitious business opportunities. The defendants allegedly targeted elderly victims across the United States and Canada and generated more than $10 million in sales.
The telemarketing enterprise operated under multiple names and most recently did business as Capital Marketing Pros and Global National. Starting in 2015, Special Agents with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office began investigating this telemarketing enterprise and its active telemarketing boiler rooms in the Phoenix area. The IRS, the USPS, and the FBI were also investigating the same enterprise. Federal and state agencies joined forces in the investigation.
Special Agent Madison MacDonald with the Major Fraud Unit leads the investigation for the Attorney General's Office.
Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.
Full copy of the US Attorney’s Office Indictment.