Criminal Charges Laid Against Montreal-based Telemarketers

OTTAWA, March 18, 2002 — The Competition Bureau announced today that criminal charges under the telemarketing provisions of the Competition Act have been laid against the directors, two administrators and seven telemarketers of two Montreal-based telemarketing companies.

The charges stem from a Bureau investigation into international deceptive telemarketing practices carried out by 3636135 Canada Inc., which conducted business in Montreal as Alexis Corporation (Alexis) and 3587932 Canada Inc., its administrative affiliate.

"This is the first case in which the Bureau used wiretaps to obtain evidence following amendments to the Criminal Code in 1999," said Raymond Pierce, Deputy Commissioner of Competition, Fair Business Practices Branch. "The Bureau will use all available means to prevent consumers from being victimized by such deceptive practices." The wiretaps were conducted with the assistance of the RCMP.

Consumers in Australia and New Zealand claimed that telemarketers phoned to tell them they had been chosen to receive valuable prizes. However, payment was required prior to the delivery of prizes to contestants, thereby allegedly contravening the Competition Act.

In addition, the Competition Bureau alleges that consumers were misled about the nature, value and quality of the prizes and products at the time of the transactions. Furthermore, the quantity and value of prizes were not revealed, and consumers were offered a grossly overpriced product in exchange for pre-payment. Between May 2000 and June 2001, the Competition Bureau and Phonebusters received numerous complaints about these practices.

Phonebusters is an agency operated by the Ontario Provincial Police that collects information on telemarketing complaints and disseminates this information to the appropriate enforcement agency. For more information, go to www.antifraudcentre.ca.

Those charged include: the two companies' directors Sheldon Cutler and Scarlet Jove; administrators Gerald Goldstein and Constantina Athanasopoulos; and telemarketers Jerry Browman, Doron Kunin, Marcus Miller, Michel Rosenberg, Lawrence Walsh, Armenia Linhares and William Kenwood.

The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency that promotes and maintains fair competition so that all Canadians can benefit from competitive prices, product choice and quality service. It oversees the application of the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Textile Labelling Act and the Precious Metals Marking Act.

For general public enquiries, please contact:
Competition Bureau's Information Centre
1-800-348-5358 or 819-997-4282

For media enquiries, please contact:
Maureen McGrath
Senior Communications Advisor
Communications Branch
819-953-8982 or 613-296-2187 (cell.)