Oregon targets 2 Ariz. felons
Pair fined; state shuts down firm on fraud allegation
One man spent 21 years in prison for a murderous rampage in Phoenix that left two people dead. The other spent nine years inside for kidnapping.
Now, these two felons are partners in a network of Arizona telemarketing businesses that authorities say ripped off hundreds of people across the country.
The Oregon Department of Justice last week hit Leary Darling of Glendale and Lance Himes of Phoenix with a $400,000 fine as part of a settlement that requires them to stop doing business in Oregon.
The settlement does not prohibit Darling and Himes from continuing to operate in other states, nor does it re-
quire them to shut down their Phoenix base of operations.
Darling, 57, and Himes, 39, pitch investments in an Internet credit-card processing service that they say will earn thousands of dollars a month in return. But investors said once they made their down payments — up to $50,000 — websites didn’t activate, dividend checks never arrived and customerservice calls were not returned.
“I would like to slap them up,” said Jackie Gassner, 67, a part-time purchasing agent in Mayville, Wis. “I gave them $10,000. They guaranteed I’d make it back in a year.”
Gassner said she bought into a program that was supposed to pay her a percentage from credit-card readers stationed in retail locations of her choosing. She was supposed to be able to monitor credit activity from a Web page set up in her name. “I got one check back for $465,” Gassner said. “That was it.”
Records show Darling and Himes have more than 19 businesses, with names such as U.S. Doc Assist, Magnetic Money, Direct Merchant Network and U.S. Job Assist.
The Better Business Bureau, which has been tracking complaints against the companies, said it has received dozens about them from consumers in 18 states from Hawaii to Massachusetts. None is from Arizona.
Several of the companies have “F” ratings from the BBB.
Oregon authorities said the companies targeted senior citizens because of their need for additional income and their lack of technological skill.
“Dozens of customers signed up, lured by the promise of steady passive income for little if any hands-on work,” the Oregon Department of Justice said in a statement last week.
Telemarketers pitched a variety of work-from-home business schemes, persuading them to pay up to $519 for their own businesses in Arizona. Authorities said consumers were told their companies would advertise merchant-processing services or credit-card swiping equipment, debt-reduction services, business loans and other merchant services.
“Other companies, also controlled by Himes and Darling, would then follow up, offering to put up a website, selling lists of potential customers, marketing campaigns, business plans and other assistance,” the Oregon statement said. “Consumers generally paid between $2,000 and $50,000 for the additional services.”
Oregon named 12 of the companies owned by Darling and Himes in their case. They said it was impossible to know how many people had been taken in by the scheme. “U.S. Doc Assist by itself signed up 112 customers in the state in just six months,” the Oregon statement said.
The Oregon Department of Justice said Darling and Himes were notified in April that they were going to be sued for violations of Oregon’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. The department launched its investigation in August after three customers who invested $219, $5,419 and $22,719, respectively, filed complaints.
Three others who worked for the companies, Maria Sabastianna Hobbs, 46, of Phoenix; Vanessa Hobbs, 26, of Buckeye; and William Stogner, 57, of Glendale, also agreed to cease doing business in Oregon.
TheArizonaAttorneyGeneral’s Office said last week that it had not received any complaints about the businesses. Officials said they were unaware of the Oregon action. Stephanie Grisham, a spokesper-