Office of the Attorney General: Five Men Indicted in Connection with Allegedly Defrauding Over 1,000 Donors to Disabled Veterans’ and Retired Police Organizations

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

August 04, 2008

WOBURN – Today, a Middlesex Grand Jury indicted five men in connection with allegedly using fraudulent telemarketing practices to deceive over 1,000 donors to police and veterans’ charitable organizations and then allegedly using those funds for their own personal use. Ronald Seeley, age 38, of Medford, his son Brandon Seeley, age 20, also of Medford, William Lewis, age 57, of Brookline, NH, George Borden, age 53, of Quincy,and Frank Cariello, age 70, of Boynton Beach, FL, are all charged as follows:

Ronald Seeley

Larceny over $250 (4 counts)

Attempted Larceny (2 counts)

Conspiracy to Commit Larceny over $250 (5 counts)

Conspiracy to Commit Forgery

Uttering (2 counts)

Gross Fraud

Deceptive Professional Solicitation Practices

Brandon Seeley

Larceny over $250

Attempted Larceny

Conspiracy to Commit Larceny over $250

Gross Fraud

Deceptive Professional Solicitation Practices

William Lewis

Larceny by over $250 (2 counts)

Attempted Larceny (2 counts)

Conspiracy to Commit Larceny (2 counts)

Gross Fraud

Deceptive Professional Solicitation Practices

George Borden

Larceny over $250 (3 counts)

Attempted Larceny

Conspiracy to Commit Larceny over $250 (2 counts)

Conspiracy to Commit Forgery

Gross Fraud

Deceptive Professional Solicitation Practices

Frank Cariello

Larceny over $250 (2 counts)

Attempted Larceny

Conspiracy to Commit Larceny over $250 (2 counts)

Uttering

Gross Fraud

Deceptive Professional Solicitation Practices

An investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Office began in August 2006 after the matter was referred by a veterans’ charitable organization. In addition, the Attorney General’s Non-Profit/Public Charities Division Division had also received multiple complaints. Investigators discovered that between August 2006 and January 2008, telemarketers from Ronald Seeley’ s professional fundraising organization, CMR Marketing, based in Medford, would allegedly engage in fraudulent fund-raising telemarketing schemes to raise money for two charities: Veteran’s Charitable Foundation (VCF), of Boynton Beach, FL, and a retired police officers organization. Much of the money given by donors never made it to the veterans and retired police officers it was intended to benefit. Authorities allege that, in total, over 1,000 donors were defrauded and well over $100,000 in donations were misappropriated.

Frank Cariello was the president of VCF. Authorities allege that Cariello paid various “expenses” from his VCF accounts, as well as taking large amounts of cash from those accounts for his own use. CMR solicited donations for VCF, picked up the checks that donors were instructed to tape to their doors, and deposited those checks directly into VCF’s bank account. VCF would then wire transfer CMR’s payment into CMR’s bank account. Investigators discovered that while CMR was fundraising for VCF, Ronald Seeley, his son Brandon Seeley, and one of his employees, William Lewis, would allegedly make false statements to potential donors. The men claimed that they were affiliated with the New England Paralyzed Veterans Association (NEPVA), that they were a volunteer organization or were themselves volunteers, that the money raised was exclusively for the benefit of Massachusetts veterans or for veterans in a particular town, and/or, that the money was used for particular purposes such as scholarships or phone cards. Authorities allege that the elder Seeley also stole some of the donations, and deposited the donor checks directly into his company’s bank accounts.

Authorities also allege that Frank Cariello conspired with the CMR telemarketers and himself made false statements in the course of the solicitations of donations for VCF.

Authorities also learned that CMR had a contract to raise funds for the Retired Boston Police Officers’ Association (RBPOA) beginning in December 2006. Under CMR’s contract with RBPOA, CMR would solicit donations from potential donors, pick up the donations, and deposit them directly into RBPOA’s bank account. Seeley and another co-worker, George Borden, allegedly stole a large portion of the donations they solicited and lied to RBPOA about the donations they received. Investigators allege that Seeley and Borden fraudulently received “donations” such as hotel rooms from donors, and used these donations for their own purposes without the authorization of the RBPOA.

Now that these indictments have been returned, the Attorney General’s Non-Profit/Public Charities Division will begin the civil process to prevent Veteran’s Charitable Foundation from continuing to fundraise in Massachusetts. A guide for potential donors regarding charitable donations can be found on the Attorney General’s website .

A Middlesex Grand Jury returned indictments against all five men this afternoon. They are scheduled for arraignment in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on September 3, 2008.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Marc Jones, of Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Corruption and Fraud Division. Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney General’s Office and Financial Investigator Jessie Julian conducted the investigation. The Massachusetts State Police Fusion Center also provided assistance with the investigation. NEPVA and RBPOA also cooperated fully in the course of the investigation.