advertisement

Elk Grove businessman faces federal fraud charge

An Elk Grove Village man defrauded a business client out of more than $716,000 through a scheme in which he claimed he was saving the company more than $1.7 million on wireless costs, according to the FBI and a federal criminal complaint unsealed this week.

George C. Tindall, 60, could face as many as 20 years in prison if found guilty of the felony wire fraud charge filed last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The complaint was unsealed Monday after Tindall appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Finnegan. He later was released from custody pending a court hearing Thursday.

According to the FBI, a Northbrook company entered into a contract with Tindall’s Schaumburg-based business, Carrier Cost Management Inc., under which the corporation would pay Tindall a 40 percent commission on savings that Tindall was able to achieve on its wireless costs.

Authorities say Tindall told the company that he negotiated with Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile to obtain “retention credits” to the corporation’s accounts with those wireless providers. According to the FBI, Tindall told the company retention credits were given by the providers to select customers with the intent of retaining their business and compensating them for service-related problems they experienced.

The complaint also alleges that Tindall forwarded purported emails from those representatives outlining the terms of the retention credits.

Based on invoices sent by Tindall setting forth the alleged payment credits he obtained, the corporation paid approximately $716,534 in commissions to Tindall and Carrier Cost Management over two years, the FBI said.

However, the criminal complaint against Tindall states that neither Verizon and T-Mobile have employees with the names identified by Tindall as his contacts at those companies, and while AT&T does have an employee by the name cited by Tindall, that employee stated he does not know and has never communicated with Tindall. AT&T also told agents it does not have a “retention credit” program, the FBI said.

Tindall attorney Steve Greenberg could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.