Fla. man sentenced to prison in telemarketing scam

EAST ST. LOUIS — A Floridian has been ordered to spend nearly four years in federal prison for his role in a time-share telemarketing scam that bilked $30 million from more than 22,000 victims across North America and Puerto Rico.

Thirty-four-year-old Ralph Johnson of Delray Beach, Fla., was sentenced Friday in East St. Louis to three years and 10 months behind bars. He pleaded guilty in September to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Federal prosecutors say that as a telemarketer for firms named Universal Marketing Solutions and Creative Vacation Solutions, Johnson defrauded roughly 140 victims of about $282,000.

As part of the overall scheme, the telemarketers falsely told time-share owners in unsolicited calls that they had buyers for their properties.