Post by pavel on Jan 30, 2016 14:50:03 GMT -6
North Carolina couple sentenced for fraud scheme in Pooler
Max Robert Godfrey, Jr., 52, and his wife Kelly Williams Godfrey, 52, both of Raleigh, N.C. were sentenced this month by United States District Court Judge William T. Moore, Jr. to 24 months and 18 months in prison, respectively, after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
The Godfreys operated a business advertised as “Furniture Best Buys” on the internet and customers who hit upon the website were offered discounts if they paid for furniture in advance by check, said First Assistant United States Attorney James Durham. The Godfreys directed the customers to mail the check to Furniture Best Buys at an address in Pooler, which was actually a UPS Store mailbox, Durham said. More than 50 customers never received their furniture or a refund. Instead, the Godfreys either lied to or ignored customers when they complained, while using customer money for personal expenses, Durham said. In addition to the prison sentences, the Court ordered the Godfreys to pay $62,240.22 in restitution.
The Pooler scheme wasn’t the Godfreys first offense.
Before coming to Georgia, the Godfreys operated businesses in the Raleigh,N.C. area named NC Home Furniture and Grand Furniture Gallery, which both left numerous customers without their furniture or a refund. In 2012, Max Godfrey was enjoined by a North Carolina court from operating a furniture business that took advance deposits from customers, but they continued in Pooler.
Read more: savannahnow.com/latest-news/2016-01-29/north-carolina-couple-sentenced-fraud-scheme-pooler
Max Robert Godfrey, Jr., 52, and his wife Kelly Williams Godfrey, 52, both of Raleigh, N.C. were sentenced this month by United States District Court Judge William T. Moore, Jr. to 24 months and 18 months in prison, respectively, after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
The Godfreys operated a business advertised as “Furniture Best Buys” on the internet and customers who hit upon the website were offered discounts if they paid for furniture in advance by check, said First Assistant United States Attorney James Durham. The Godfreys directed the customers to mail the check to Furniture Best Buys at an address in Pooler, which was actually a UPS Store mailbox, Durham said. More than 50 customers never received their furniture or a refund. Instead, the Godfreys either lied to or ignored customers when they complained, while using customer money for personal expenses, Durham said. In addition to the prison sentences, the Court ordered the Godfreys to pay $62,240.22 in restitution.
The Pooler scheme wasn’t the Godfreys first offense.
Before coming to Georgia, the Godfreys operated businesses in the Raleigh,N.C. area named NC Home Furniture and Grand Furniture Gallery, which both left numerous customers without their furniture or a refund. In 2012, Max Godfrey was enjoined by a North Carolina court from operating a furniture business that took advance deposits from customers, but they continued in Pooler.
Read more: savannahnow.com/latest-news/2016-01-29/north-carolina-couple-sentenced-fraud-scheme-pooler