Pair Sentenced in Senior Scam
A Santa Ana father and son were sentenced to federal prison terms Monday for running a telemarketing prize scam that targeted elderly victims across the country.
John Wesley Scrivener received a 42-month sentence, and his son, Jade Steven Scrivener, was sentenced to 56 months behind bars after pleading guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to nine counts of wire fraud.
U.S. District Judge Manuel Real said the men were “lucky” because the investigation uncovered only “the tip of the iceberg.”
Passing themselves off as representatives of Publishers Clearing House, the Scriveners would telephone elderly contestants and tell them they had just won a big prize, but they would have to pay advance fees of as much as $12,000 for taxes, attorneys or processing.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Daniel Saunders said the pair defrauded scores of victims of at least $385,000. The case was an outgrowth of an investigation by the Orange County Boiler Room Apprehension Task Force, a group run by the FBI and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
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