N. Hollywood Telemarketer Convicted

A woman has been found guilty of soliciting for an illegal telemarketing operation, the first such conviction in the state, the city attorney said Wednesday.

Valda Ray, 50, of North Hollywood was convicted Tuesday after jurors deliberated for about four hours, City Atty. Jim Hahn said.

Ray was charged in August with three counts of soliciting on behalf of an unregistered telephonic seller. She was caught after she made a sales pitch to an elderly woman who was cooperating with the FBI.

Judge Ronald Schoenberg will sentence Ray on May 11. She faces a maximum 18 months in jail and a $2,500 fine in the misdemeanor case.

Attempts to reach Ray at home Wednesday night were unsuccessful; her phone rang unanswered.

Ray’s partner, Dandal Dampier, 51, of Westchester, pleaded no contest in December to two counts of failing to maintain a $100,000 bond for a telemarketing business and for failing to register as a telemarketer.

He was sentenced to 120 days in jail or 60 days on a state Department of Transportation work crew. He also was placed on three years’ probation.

Dampier ran the bogus Santa Monica-based Media Capital Consultants, which promoted a company called Commercial Express.

Commercial Express was sued in federal court in Colorado by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC alleged Commercial Express was nothing but a pyramid scheme that bilked investors of $15 million.

Commercial Express promised investors returns of up to a whopping 26% for a supposed business that bought TV air time for infomercials. Returns were generated by money from new investors and not from the product.