U.S. Attorney Damian Williams | U.S. Department of Justice
Richard Zeitlin, owner of a telemarketing call center business, has been sentenced to 121 months in prison for his involvement in a scheme to defraud donors of political action committees (PACs). The sentence was delivered by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan following Zeitlin's guilty plea to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on September 10, 2024.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, commented on the case: "Richard Zeitlin’s actions represent a profound breach of trust, as represented by today’s sentencing. The integrity of donor contributions is essential, and this Office will continue to pursue justice against those who undermine it."
The fraudulent activities took place from around 2017 to 2020. During this period, Zeitlin used his telemarketing call center and related entities to mislead donors about how their contributions would be utilized. He instructed employees to modify call scripts to deceive potential donors into believing they were donating to charities rather than PACs. This deception led many donors to contribute under false pretenses, with Zeitlin's businesses retaining approximately 90% of the funds raised. In some cases, none of the money went towards the causes described during solicitation calls.
Zeitlin also lied under oath in December 2020 during a deposition related to a federal civil matter, falsely claiming that neither he nor his employees influenced the call scripts used for fundraising on behalf of PACs. Further deceit occurred in March 2022 when Zeitlin submitted a declaration under penalty of perjury denying control over certain business entities linked to his telemarketing operations.
In May 2022, upon learning about a federal investigation into his activities, Zeitlin directed employees to delete electronic messages related to his businesses.
In addition to his prison term, Zeitlin has been sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture and restitution totaling $8,906,760—an amount representing proceeds from his criminal activities.
U.S. Attorney Williams praised the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their investigative efforts in this case. The prosecution was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jane Kim, Emily Deininger, and Rebecca T. Dell from the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.
