Prosecutors: Magazine subscription scam took nearly $500K

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Arizona man has pleaded guilty to scamming consumers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by operating a fake magazine-subscription company.

Thirty-eight-year-old Raheem Oliver of Phoenix pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to fraud conspiracy charges. He admitted running a company that preyed on elderly consumers, demanding large payments for supposedly overdue magazine subscriptions.

Court documents say two elderly consumers in Virginia were each scammed out of more than $50,000 when they were told they owed fines and legal fees for unpaid subscription renewals.

Court documents also indicate the multi-year fraud victimized approximately 250 people. Prosecutors estimate the fraud totalled nearly $500,000.

Oliver will be sentenced in June and faces up to 20 years in prison.