A Montreal man has been sentenced to three years in prison in the United States for a mass marketing fraud scheme that defrauded American victims out of more than $1.2 million.

Michel Poirier, 60, was sentenced on June 10 by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley after previously pleading guilty to mail fraud. The sentence followed Poirier’s extradition from Canada to face prosecution in the United States.

According to U.S. authorities, Poirier operated the scheme from Canada between 2011 and May 2016. Prosecutors said he targeted printing companies and consumers in the United States, including victims in Wisconsin.

Using aliases, Poirier allegedly contacted U.S. printing companies and claimed he was working with direct mail businesses that needed suppliers to print and distribute large mailings of brochures. After the companies completed the printing and mailing work, they were paid with cheques drawn on closed accounts or accounts with insufficient funds.

When the printing companies tried to obtain payment by other means, Poirier stopped responding to emails and telephone calls.

Authorities said the brochures were used to promote weight loss products sold by Poirier. The promotional materials allegedly contained false claims and omissions, including testimonials from fictitious customers, statements of authenticity from fictitious doctors, and a fictitious money-back guarantee.

Consumers who received the brochures and purchased the products were also defrauded, according to prosecutors.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and IRS Criminal Investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Reinhard prosecuted the case.

Poirier pleaded guilty to mail fraud on March 20 and has now been sentenced to serve three years in prison.

The post Canadian Man Sentenced to Three Years in U.S. Prison for $1.2M Fraud Scheme appeared first on Canadian Fraud News Inc. | Fraud related news | Fraud in Canada.

Originally published on Canadian Fraud News.