Crime & Safety

Telemarketing Ring: Dunedin Man Gets 6-Year Sentence

Theodore Thomas is among 18 people accused of bilking more than $2.8 million from people in 41 states, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

This story is written and reported by Local Editor Sunde Farquhar. Local Editor Katie Dolac also contributed.

A Dunedin man facing felony charges in connection with his role in a telemarketing ring is sentenced to six years in prison.

Theodore Thomas, 33, deemed the ringleader of a telemarketing ring that defrauded $2.8 million from people in 41 states, was sentenced for his involvement in operating three companies targeting victims who owned inexpensive, vacant land, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

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As part of his bargain for a shortened sentence, Thomas pleaded guilty to the first-degree felony charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities and agreed to testify against remaining defendants. 

"Theodore Thomas led an operation that stole millions of dollars from mostly elderly victims across the country, and now he will pay the price," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said in a news release. "This sentence shows that consumer fraud is a crime that will be punished.”

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To date, 15 of the 18 people indicted have pleaded guilty, among them are Stephen Grannan, 57, and Justin Kirk Jones, 45, both of Palm Harbor. They both will avoid jail time, according to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

The telemarketers are reported to have led property owners to believe that their land was worth up to 15 times its assessed value and had to pay fees ranging from $500 to nearly $16,000 to guarantee the sale of their land.

Grannan pleaded guilty to complicity to telecommunications fraud, which is a third-degree felony in Ohio. He also pleaded guilty to complicity to telemarketing fraud, which is a fifth-degree felony. Grannan was sentenced to community control, which is similar to probation and is used for felons when a judge does not sentence a prison term.

Jones pleaded guilty to complicity to telecommunications fraud, which is a third-degree felony in Ohio and complicity to grand theft, which is a fourth-degree felony. He was also sentenced to community control. 

According to state records, Jones has an active real estate license in the state of Florida. 

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