http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...orn_site_fraud
NEW YORK - A mobster, two executives and five companies bilked Internet users out of $230 million by running bogus "free tours" of adult entertainment Web sites, federal authorities charged Tuesday.
Thousands of users who thought they were taking a free peek at the sexually explicit material actually were charged $59.99 a month, according to Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf.
Authorities arrested Richard Martino, who they described as a member of the Gambino organized-crime family; Bruce Chew, the chief executive of porn Web site operator Crescent Publishing Group; and Norman Chanes, a businessman.
The men tricked customers into submitting their credit-card information for free visits and then made it nearly impossible for them to leave the Web site, Mauskopf said.
Some users discovered that the "go back" button on their browser was disabled, while others couldn't find an "exit" button and racked up fees, the U.S. attorney said.
"The defendants created a web of lies and deception to trap unwary consumers on the Internet," Mauskopf said in announcing the indictment. "Millions of dollars went from consumers' bank accounts and into the defendants' pockets."
The government will attempt to seize the men's multimillion-dollar homes in New York and California, she said.
Martino, 43 years old, of Harrison, N.Y.; Chew, 50, Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.; and Chanes, 56, of New York, were charged with a number of offenses including money laundering, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Martino and Chanes are charged with using three companies they controlled ? Mical Properties, Dynamic Telecommunications Inc., and Westford Telecommunications Inc. ? to launder illegal profits. The companies were named on the federal indictment along with Lexitrans Inc. and Harvest Advertising, which controlled or designed the adult Web sites, authorities said.
Martino is charged with funneling more than $8 million of the proceeds to a high-ranking member of the Gambino crime family.
NEW YORK - A mobster, two executives and five companies bilked Internet users out of $230 million by running bogus "free tours" of adult entertainment Web sites, federal authorities charged Tuesday.
Thousands of users who thought they were taking a free peek at the sexually explicit material actually were charged $59.99 a month, according to Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf.
Authorities arrested Richard Martino, who they described as a member of the Gambino organized-crime family; Bruce Chew, the chief executive of porn Web site operator Crescent Publishing Group; and Norman Chanes, a businessman.
The men tricked customers into submitting their credit-card information for free visits and then made it nearly impossible for them to leave the Web site, Mauskopf said.
Some users discovered that the "go back" button on their browser was disabled, while others couldn't find an "exit" button and racked up fees, the U.S. attorney said.
"The defendants created a web of lies and deception to trap unwary consumers on the Internet," Mauskopf said in announcing the indictment. "Millions of dollars went from consumers' bank accounts and into the defendants' pockets."
The government will attempt to seize the men's multimillion-dollar homes in New York and California, she said.
Martino, 43 years old, of Harrison, N.Y.; Chew, 50, Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.; and Chanes, 56, of New York, were charged with a number of offenses including money laundering, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Martino and Chanes are charged with using three companies they controlled ? Mical Properties, Dynamic Telecommunications Inc., and Westford Telecommunications Inc. ? to launder illegal profits. The companies were named on the federal indictment along with Lexitrans Inc. and Harvest Advertising, which controlled or designed the adult Web sites, authorities said.
Martino is charged with funneling more than $8 million of the proceeds to a high-ranking member of the Gambino crime family.
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