Feds: Chesco man scammed seniors out of millions

A Chester County man was charged Thursday with wire fraud and money laundering for selling worthless fraud protection and other services to senior citizens.

Federal prosecutors said Marc Roy Ferry, 35, of Downingtown, made millions of dollars using a network of telemarketers in Canada to sell worthless or non-existent services, including discounted legal services and a discount prescription card, to seniors in the United States.

He and others used business names such as Fraud Watch and Trust One, and debited the seniors' bank accounts without their consent, prosecutors said.

Ferry and others made more than $13 million from tens of thousands of senior citizens since May 2011. They operated their scheme for several years until about March 2014.

The network of telemarketers said they were calling from the victims' banks and insurance companies and the federal government.

Ferry and others ran "front" companies to process money and wired much of the money to accounts in Canada.

Ferry faces a maximum sentence of 70 years in prison and a more than $750,000 fine if he is convicted in federal court.

The FBI, Internal Revenue Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vineet Gauri will prosecute.

- Michaelle Bond