Secret Service Receives Junk Fax; Phones Florida to Learn More About This Exciting Investment Opportunity

Flickr: Abhisek Sarda

​A Boca Raton man has entered a guilty plea in a Kansas court to charges that he was part of a conspiracy to defraud investors across North America. The case against John Persaud started the moment that one of his firm's junk faxes arrived in the Wichita, Kansas, office of the U.S. Secret Service.

From an AP article:

The case began four years ago, when the U.S. Secret Service office in Wichita got an unsolicited fax from the Florida company saying it had buyers interested in purchasing the business.

Here was a fraud case that even a desk jockey could ride to the winner's circle. PBS Global, Inc., was designed to target small businesses, but junk faxes aren't exactly known for their precision. The company was actually based in Melbourne where chief executive Richard Hagan lives.

Persaud was the firm's sales director. Both entered guilty pleas last week, but it appears Pernaud's deal with prosecutors calls for more restitution -- $4 million compared to Hagan's $1 million -- and a prison sentence of seven-and-a-half years, while Hagan expects to serve more than five.

Prosecutors earlier dropped charges against Cheri Persaud, who property records show as the owner of a 8,000-square-foot home in Boca's Fox Hill Estates. It's on the market for about $1.8 million.