Canadian man gets 3 years in prison for $1.2 million in fraud of US victims, some from Wisconsin
By Jeff Richgels
Click here for updates on this story
Wisconsin (madison.com/Wisconsin State Journal) — A Canadian man has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for defrauding U.S. victims, some from Wisconsin, out of more than $1.2 million, authorities reported.
Michel Poirier, 60, of Montreal, was sentenced on June 10 by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley for mail fraud, a charge he pleaded guilty to on March 20, following his extradition from Canada, U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma said in a statement.
Between 2011 and May 2016, Poirier orchestrated a mass marketing fraud scheme from Canada that targeted printing companies and consumers in the U.S.
Using aliases, Poirier contacted printing companies in the U.S., representing that he was working for direct mail companies looking for U.S. suppliers to handle mass mailings of brochures. After the companies spent money printing and mailing the brochures, they received checks from Poirier that drew on either closed accounts or accounts with insufficient funds. When the companies sought alternative forms of payment, Poirier stopped answering emails and telephone calls.
The brochures promoted weight loss products sold by Poirier and they contained numerous false statements and material omissions, including testimonials from fictitious clients, statements of product authenticity from fictitious doctors, and a fictitious money back guarantee.
Consumers who received the brochures and purchased weight loss products were defrauded out of their money.
The charge against Poirier was the result of an investigation conducted 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 was the prosecutor.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.