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Grandmother in $3-Million Fraud Sought

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Federal authorities are searching the Los Angeles area for a 68-year-old grandmother accused of swindling about 100 victims out of more than $3 million in a wholesale carpet investment fraud scheme, the FBI said Tuesday.

FBI spokesman Fred Reagan said Gertrude M. Pruett has been a fugitive since April, 1985, when she and her son, Harold, were indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges. Harold Pruett was convicted of 20 counts of fraud last year and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Gertrude Pruett solicited investors in a carpet company called Carpetmasters, according to Reagan. He said she and her son claimed they sold millions of dollars in pre-sold carpeting annually, but actually sold almost no carpeting at all.

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“She took flight to Sri Lanka after the indictment, but has returned to the Los Angeles area and may be working as a housekeeper,” Reagan said. “Investors and employees remember her as a sweet grandmotherly type who baked fruitcakes during the holidays. On occasions she has sought employment as a secretary or housekeeper.”

Reagan and Assistant U.S. Atty. Ronald Nessim, who prosecuted the case against Harold Pruett, described Gertrude Pruett as a woman with light brown hair and brown eyes. They said she is 5 foot 7 and 160 pounds and wears glasses or contact lenses.

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