United States Attorney Richard B. Roper
Northern District of Texas

VIRGINIA MAN SURRENDERS TO FEDERAL AUTHORITIES AFTER SEVEN YEARS ON THE LAM AND PLEADS GUILTY TO MAIL FRAUD

LUBBOCK, Texas — Daniel Hunter Fletcher, 40, pled guilty on Thursday to one count of mail fraud before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, announced U.S. Attorney Richard B. Roper of the Northern District of Texas. Fletcher was charged in a 15-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Lubbock in August 2001, that charged various offenses related to a scheme he ran in which he submitted fraudulent bills for telephone calls that were never made. He was a fugitive, however, until November of this year when he turned himself in to federal authorities. Fletcher faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. Judge Cummings ordered a presentence investigation report and a sentencing date will be scheduled after that report is completed.

According to documents filed in Court, Fletcher operated a company named “Phone Calls, Inc.,” with an address of 3220 N Street, NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20007, that provided long distance telephone service to numerous customers in the U.S. From February 1996 through December 1996, he devised a scheme to defraud individuals and Southwestern Bell Telephone Company (Southwestern Bell). He caused a database to be created that contained the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and long distance billing amounts of numerous people throughout the multi-state sales area of Southwestern Bell. He provided this database to an individual who converted this information to a format required by Southwestern Bell for billing purposes. Using this database, Fletcher deceived Southwestern Bell into sending bills to its telephone customers, that included charges for calls fraudulently submitted by Phone Calls, Inc., for billing together with legitimate Southwestern Bell phone services.

Fletcher sold fraudulent billings for long distance calls supposedly made through Phone Calls, Inc., to Southwestern Bell, and negotiated checks received from Southwestern Bell for Phone Calls, Inc. long distance fees billed to Southwestern Bell customers. Long distance billing information provided to Southwestern Bell falsely represented that actual long distance telephone calls had been placed by individuals throughout the Southwestern Bell billing area, as reflected on the database submitted by Phone Calls, Inc., for billing by Southwestern Bell. Fletcher also falsely represented that he was entitled to receive all of the long distance telephone fees billed to customers by Southwestern Bell on behalf of Phone Calls, Inc.

U.S. Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy is prosecuting the case.

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