FLORIDA
A federal court in Florida sentenced Eugene Marotta, 49, to 46 months in prison for scamming senior citizens and others, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
Marotta, who was also ordered to pay restitution, is scheduled to be sentenced in January, officials said.
U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom sentenced Marotta after he plead guilty in September to participating in a mail fraud scheme that deceived thousands by making false promises of being eligible for a $350,000 prize.
The mail sent to victims were sent from a business called Art Masters LLC, d/b/a Palm Beach Liquidation Gallery (PBLG). Marotta was the registrant of PBLG, a shell company, and was responsible for receiving payments from victims and handling other administrative responsibilities for the scheme.
In his plea, Marotta admitted that victims had, in fact, won no prizes and never received anything for their submitted money. The scheme caused more than $1,000,000 in victim losses.
Judge Bloom noted that Marotta and his co-conspirators targeted the elderly and vulnerable.
“The Department of Justice will pursue those who defraud Americans through false promises and fraudulent schemes,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Schemes like this often target the elderly and vulnerable, and shutting them down remains a top priority for the Department.”