By Associated Press and msnbc.com
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Talk about a dirty scam.
Federal prosecutors in Florida say at least three people working for a septic tank company duped elderly customers into buying about $1 million in unnecessary products -- in some cases enough toilet paper to last more than 70 years.
More than a dozen customers were told they needed special toilet paper to avoid ruining their septic tanks because the federal government changed regulations on toilet paper. The federal government does not regulate septic tank products.
Christopher Lincoln, Mary Moore and Joseph Nouerand each pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to commit wire fraud.
The Miami Herald reported that they worked for FBK Products. A phone number for the Riviera Beach-based company was not working Saturday.


Now I suppose the Republicans will defend these three because there should not have been any regulations prohibiting these "business practices" because those regulations cause unemployment.
Just trolling around for anything you can twist into Republican-bashing? Got to bring politics into a straightforward criminal case of fraud, eh?
It's a legitimate question. Usually, Libertarians believe that the government should protect people from fraud, but in this current environment, I'm not sure if even they'd even want to do that.
Proposing that Republicans would protect fraud on the basis of decreasing unemployment is a legitimate question? Not in my world, and I don't even support the GOP.
Sounds more like a case the Liberals would be interested in defending. It is the Republicans who put these fraud laws into effect to help protect the elderly.
Scamming old folks about toilet paper??? What a @!$%#ty thing to do; Hang Them out to Dry!!!!
Why is it that some people have to try and make every story about politics. This story is not about politics, it is about a few scumbags who decided that scamming the elderly was an acceptable was to get rich. Please go crawl back under your rock and do not come out again until you are ready to talk about the actual subject of the article.
As for the story, I hope they throw these clowns in jail for a long time so that they have plenty of time to think about what they did. People who try and scam the elderly are really low, particularly since many of those they scam are barely getting by as it is.
Well............that stinks!!!!!!!!!
Don97524 is absolutely right, and I REALLY doubt Dave the Doubter's statement! He's got it backwards, liberals pass laws to protect the elderly, ever hear of Social Security? The RW CONServatives put loopholes in laws so thier criminal friends on Wall Street and elsewhere get off SCOT-FREE!!! So much for the "Law and Order" GOP crowd!!!
If there is a legitimate political angle to throw at this story, it is the fact that these people will go to jail, yet the bankers and mortgage companies who caused this current recession will mostly get away with no punishment.
Republicans, as we speak, have been defunding and trying to shut down a consumer protections agency that was formed to protect consumers from fraud! They've stated in the media for months that the government shouldn't be overseeing the protections of consumers, and if a consumer get's scammed out of their money then that was a bad financial decision on their part. It doesn't have to be mentioned here really, republicans have politicized this topic for the last 2 years. I'll ask again as I have so many times before, do you republicans even listen to your representatives?? You even have Ron Paul saying in one of the debates how government shouldn't regulate automobile safety either because if enough people die in a particular model, people will stop buying it.
Really, what planet are you people living on????
Don, these elderly people fell for this scam because dumb regulations are the norm. If there were no stupid regulations, do you think these poor people would have believed a @!$%#ty word about the Federal Governments preference of toilet paper?
Just when I thought I had heard it all. If crooks could just use that ambition on creating a new product or getting a job.
You're right rjw007. You can't call them stupid, so these type of people who do this have to be bottom-feeding parasites. They must realize that if they used just half that work and ingenuity for good instead of bad, they'd make themselves rich legitimately. So they just WANT to hurt innocent people, plain and simple.
Why are the FEDS prosecuting a fraud crime- normally a "state" issue and normally tried in local/state courts.
There's more to this story than we're getting!
Probably wire fraud is what made it federal
Why, are the Feds involved? Because if you held your breath waiting for the State of Florida to prosecute fraud, you would die of asphyxiation.
Why are the FEDS prosecuting a fraud crime- normally a "state" issue and normally tried in local/state courts.
Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States.
Why do you, even with internet access, not able to ascertain this for yourself in a matter of seconds?
Why do you type out 10 times as much eluding to a conspiracy than the search string that would have given you your answer?
Why has common-sense become nonsensical these days?
OMG what a s....y deal
does anyone really car about this simple crap .msnbc= most stories, nothing but crap. Is there any news available ? Just rotten hype to get You to look. News service ? Good bye world. Photocal
So, listen to O'Reilly whine about high priced muffins on FOX !
You cared enough to read the article and comment on it....Yeah.
AG99, Don has a valid point. Any Republican OR Democrat can point to these regulations on business practices causing the unemployment of those three who were convicted. It wasn't Republican bashing by
Don. He simply feels these three should NOT be employed, as do I, and as you feel otherwise.
AG99, Don has a valid point. Any Republican OR Democrat can point to these regulations on business practices causing the unemployment of those three who were convicted. It wasn't Republican bashing by
Don. He simply feels these three should NOT be employed, as do I, and as you feel otherwise.
Everyone should get rid of their toilet paper and move to using the Three Sea Shells. It's just a coincidence that I just cornered the market in seashells. :)
hey google, what's a septic tank?
What about prosecuting banker for dupping millions of Americans into absud fees, late charges and other theft from customers - and such practices as using falsified legal documents to foreclose mortgages, falsified documents to take people to court for not being able to pay when the banks caused the crisis by which they lost their jobs in the fist place. It seems - steal a pizza go to jail - defraud millions out of people, crash the economy and get a pat on the back and praise from Repbulicans. There is something very twisted about this.
Class warfare?
What about elder abuse? All they will get is a slap on the hand.
70 year supply of toilet paper, i see some old folks heading to a flea market to sale their wares...
You gotta be sch*tting me!!!
Those scammers should be put in a septic tank that is almost full, up to their necks.
Those idiots that believed that thing about toilet paper need to be psychiatric evaluated.
that's sh&*(^y!
We should hold these guys in awe: awwwwwwe sh!t!
These thugs need to supply monetary restitution to their victims, then give them some jail time.
Hanging's too good fer' 'em!
The magazine industry isn’t any different. They have many “agents” representing them with the primary purpose of “extending” the subscription length of their subscribers. I’ve heard of elderly subscribers with subscription expiration dates almost twenty years in the future. The magazine industry should also be investigated and laws passed limiting the expiration date to no more than three years in the future. As far as I’m concerned both these industries are “dirty” and need to be “flushed” down the toilet.
Idiot!
"The federal government does not regulate septic tank products." Well, there's a lost opportunity for Dumbocrats. How in the world can this country continue to function if the federal government doesn't regulate septic tank products??!!
So, why the heck doesn't the government regulate toilet paper? It does regulate light bulbs. Come on guys, get off the crapper and start passing some more laws.