Nemr Hallak, a 43-year-old resident of Quebec, Canada, has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for his involvement in a telemarketing fraud scheme. The sentencing was delivered by Senior U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen in San Francisco.

Hallak was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2016 on charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering and mail and wire fraud. He was initially arrested in Greece the same year and extradited to the United States in late 2023. On September 12, 2024, Hallak pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

According to his plea agreement, Hallak admitted to collaborating with co-defendants in a "business directory" telemarketing scam that used misleading cold calls and false invoices. This led victims to pay for services they neither ordered nor received. Co-defendants Tolga Suatac and Michelina Perna have already pleaded guilty and were sentenced in March 2023, while Roberto Mancini's case is still pending.

United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey stated, "The defendant and his co-conspirators devised a scheme that targeted small businesses, misleading those businesses into believing they owed money for fake directory listings." Ramsey emphasized the commitment to investigating fraudsters regardless of their location.

Stephen M. Sherwood from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service highlighted the collaboration with the IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division in arresting those responsible for such schemes against small businesses.

Linda Nguyen from IRS-CI noted the complexity of the international telemarketing scheme that defrauded thousands out of over $5 million: "What Hallak and his co-conspirators did not account for is the global reach of IRS-CI international operations."

Court documents revealed that shell companies were formed under nominees' names who had no real control over them but were paid cash for their participation. Many companies falsely used "Yellow Pages" to appear legitimate.

Victims were misled into believing they had existing business relationships with these entities and owed between $400 and $1,800 for services never rendered. Some victims faced harassment or threats when initial attempts failed.

In addition to imprisonment, Judge Chen imposed three years of supervised release on Hallak along with an order to pay restitution amounting to $5,381,702.86.

Assistant United States Attorney Lloyd Farnham leads prosecution efforts supported by Kathy Tat and Helen Yee following investigations by USPIS and IRS-CI alongside assistance from international authorities during extradition processes involving Greek law enforcement agencies.