Mr. Black' has pleaded guilty to federal fraud and money laundering charges.
But so has 'Mr. White', 'Mr. Pink' and 17 other defendants in a telemarketing scheme with its center in Phoenix.
That includes defendants with other aliases ranging from 'Fredo' to 'Brittany Wilson' and 'Hailee Randall,' according to federal prosecutors.
Mr. Black is actually Timothy Murphy, who also went by aliases Colby Muhlberg and Arthur Whitton. He pleaded guilty in federal court in Missouri to a wire fraud charge and conspiracy to commit money laundering charge.
Murphy, 34, is from Phoenix and the latest Arizona defendant to plead guilty in a telemarketing scam aimed at elderly victims.
Michael McNeill, 48, of Phoenix — aka Mr. White and Todd Lockwood — and Joshua Flynn, 36, of Chandler — aka Mr. Pink and Jeff Thomas — also pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges late last year in the same case, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office and Internal Revenue Service.
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According to federal prosecutors, the Phoenix-based telemarketing group along with associated businesses in Missouri generated more than $20 million in phony telemarketing sales related to business opportunities and used the proceeds instead to buy gold and silver coins.
The case has generated multiple indictments and guilty pleas with almost all defendants from Phoenix and its suburbs.
Others pleading guilty in the case include:
• Ashley Powell, aka Brittany Wilson, 26, of Phoenix.
• Dean Miller, aka Jeffry Wilkes, 44 of Phoenix
• Scott Shocklee, aka Fredo, 40, of Phoenix,
• Jason Gallagher, 36, of Gilbert,
• Andre Devoe, 43, of Tempe
• Cybill Osterman, 26, of Scottsdale
• Jennifer Hansen, ake Hailee Randall, 35, of El Mirage
All those defendants inlcuding Mr. White, Mr. Black and Mr. Pink will be sentenced later this year.
"All twenty defendants have now pled guilty in connection with a multi-count indictment arising from their participation in a fraudulent telemarketing enterprise that often targeted elderly victims," said IRS Special Agent Brian Watson. "The telemarketing enterprise sold false and fictitious business opportunities as part of a scheme that reached across the United States and Canada and generated in excess of $20 million in fraudulent sales."