Attorney General's News Release

August 14, 1996

Nixon charges New York man with defrauding elderly Missourian through telephone calls

Jefferson City, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon today filed seven criminal counts against a Buffalo, N.Y., man who allegedly made repeated telephone calls in an attempt to defraud an elderly woman in Cape Girardeau.

Martin T. Boyd, 30, was detained and questioned Friday by the Secret Service and the Buffalo Police Department at the Western Union office in Buffalo. Nixon said his office obtained the cooperation of federal and local authorities in detaining Boyd after Missouri investigators learned of his whereabouts.

Nixon charged that during several phone calls in June, July and August, Boyd told the woman:

• He was a representative of the New York Attorney General's Office who was working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and had recovered $35,000 she had paid to fraudulent businesses;
• She had won a cash prize of more than $10,000 and was required to pay taxes and fees up to $200 to acquire the prize;
• He was a Federal Express employee who would help her send the money via Western Union.

Nixon said his office is seeking the arrest and extradition of Boyd to Missouri to face the seven felony charges of unlawful merchandising practices. Each of the counts is a class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

As in all criminal cases, the charges against Boyd are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Earlier this year Nixon obtained convictions against three men from California on charges related to fraudulent telemarketing calls made into Missouri. Nixon said his office and other law enforcement authorities have been given powerful new tools to work cooperatively across state lines to crack down on fraudulent telemarketers.

“Con men who use the telephone to prey on the elderly can't hide behind the shelter of a state line anymore,” Nixon said. “Law enforcement agents all over the country are working together to stop the machinations of those who fraudulently dial for dollars.”

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818