San Diego

FBI agents searched the offices of a San Diego company, the second in a week, alleged to have conducted a nationwide telephone scam by inducing victims to send money in exchange for prizes as part of an anti-drug program.

Telephone solicitors for National Diversified Marketing led victims to believe they had won prizes as part of an anti-drug campaign, FBI agents said. Victims were talked into sending $400 to $500, and in exchange they often received a piece of jewelry and a package of anti-drug literature.

Federal authorities on Friday seized volumes of documents and prizes at the company’s three offices in San Diego, said Mitchell Dembin, an assistant U.S. attorney. The home of company president Darren R. Valency was also searched.

No arrests were made Friday and an investigation is continuing to determine if any federal criminal laws have been broken, Dembin said.

A similar scenario was played out Feb. 14, when federal authorities searched the offices of Page Norton Inc., which operated under the name “Say No Now,” FBI agents said. The company is also alleged to have induced victims into sending thousands of dollars in exchange for cash and prizes, often as part of an anti-drug program.