Telemarketing Scammer Charged With Multiple Counts Of Mail and Wire Fraud

United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced a federal indictment charging WAYNE ROBERT DAHL, JR., 50, with four counts of mail fraud and four counts of wire fraud. DAHL will make his initial appearance in U.S. District Court at a later date.

According to the indictment, DAHL owned “Your Magazine Service, Inc.” a fraudulent telemarketing company that operated a call center in Chaska, Minnesota. DAHL devised a scheme to trick mostly elderly customers into signing up for costly magazine subscriptions using false representations and fraudulent sales tactics. From 2009 through 2016, DAHL fraudulently obtained more than $10 million from 13,000 victims across the United States.

According to the indictment, DAHL purchased lists of consumers who had active magazine subscriptions through other companies. DAHL directed his employees to call these consumers and falsely claim they were calling to offer the consumers a $150 reduction on their existing account balance. In reality, as DAHL knew, the consumers did not have an existing magazine subscription with his company. During the calls, DAHL directed his employees to obtain consumers’ credit card information by falsely claiming that the company was conducting a survey on credit card and banking usage. DAHL then directed his employees to use this information to trick consumers into signing up for expensive magazine subscription packages that they did not want nor realize they were purchasing. These new subscription packages resulted in DAHL’s company billing his victim-consumers 20 monthly payments of $49.90, for a total cost of $998. 

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson is prosecuting the case.

Defendant Information:

Wayne Robert Dahl, Jr., 50

Fridley, Minn.

Charges:

    Mail Fraud, 4 counts

    Wire Fraud, 4 counts