Competition Bureau
Man Jailed for Mass Marketing Fraud ChargesOttawa, October 27, 2006 - A Toronto Strategic Partnership investigation has led to jail time for an individual who was arrested in Toronto in August 2006 on a number of criminal charges relating to a multi-million dollar advertising scam. The Toronto Strategic Partnership is a multi-agency law enforcement response to Mass Marketing Fraud. It includes the Competition Bureau, the Toronto Police Service Fraud Squad, the Ontario Provincial Police, PhoneBusters, the RCMP-GTA Commercial Crime Section, the Ontario Ministry of Government Services, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the UK Office of Fair Trading. Michael Robert Petreikis, 61, an American citizen who is known by many aliases, was charged with Fraud Over $5,000 and Attempt to Defeat Justice under the Criminal Code, and with False and Misleading Representations under the Competition Act. On October 12, 2006, the accused pleaded guilty in Toronto to all charges and received the following sentence (to be served concurrently):
An investigation by the Toronto Strategic Partnership revealed that Mr. Petreikis operated a scheme in the Greater Toronto Area, which involved the mass mailing of fraudulent invoices to companies in the United States and Europe for advertising in business and travel directories that the companies had not requested. The fraudulent invoices were mailed to businesses in the hope that they would be inadvertently paid by the victim companies. Numerous complaints were received by the Competition Bureau, PhoneBusters, the FTC and the Better Business Bureau. More than 10,000 companies were victimized by the scheme with a total loss in excess of $10 million. Mr. Petreikis was ordered to forfeit seized items, including all of the operation’s computers. In addition, he was ordered to pay $2-million in restitution to the victims. The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that promotes and maintains fair competition so that all Canadians can benefit from competitive prices, product choice and quality service. It oversees the application of the Competition Act , the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act. - 30 - For media enquiries, please contact: Maureen McGrath For general enquiries, please contact: Information Centre 
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Created: 2006-10-27 Updated: 2006-10-27 |
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