Mt. Laurel man charged in multimillion-dollar telemarketing scam

Levittown - PHILADELPHIA - A Mount Laurel man pleaded guilty to running a multimillion-dollar telemarketing scam that defrauded as many as 400,000 small businesses out of as much as $75 million.

Neal D. Saferstein, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and two counts of filing false tax returns. Saferstein, who faces up to 46 years in prison and a $1 million fine, will be sentenced in February, U.S. attorney spokeswoman Patty Hartman said.

Saferstein was president and CEO of GoInternet, which did business in Philadelphia at North Third and Strawberry streets. GoInternet allegedly derived more than $75 million in gross revenues from a fraudulent telemarketing scheme that ran from 2001 to 2004, Hartman said.

According to the indictment, GoInternet was designed to defraud customers and potential customers into making monthly $29 payments for Internet-related services without their knowledge and authorization.

GoInternet's telemarketers duped customers into receiving a welcome packet without disclosing that the mailing would trigger monthly bills unless the customer called to cancel, Hartman said.

By 2003, GoInternet employed more than 1,000 telemarketers and was signing on about 7,500 customers every week.

By the end of 2003, its customer base included more than 350,000 businesses.

Safetstein prevented customers from receiving notices disclosing the cost of the services and delayed and prohibited refunds from going to customers, who had been defrauded and were promised refunds. Fake sales verification tapes purported to contain the telemarketer's call to the customer and the customer's consent, authorities said.

Saferstein also used GoInternet corporate funds as if they were in his own bank account, paying for significant personal expenses, Hartman said. He failed to report income from 2000 to 2003 that exceeded $1.7 million. The indictment charges Saferstein with failing to pay more than $2.8 million in payroll taxes while he ran GoInternet.

Two of Saferstein's associates also were named in the indictment. Tyrone L. Barr of Philadelphia faces 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Billy D. Light, 41, of Voorhees, faces five years and a $250,000 fine.

Contact: gmattar@phillyBurbs.com or 609-871-8036

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