Indianapolis Man Convicted of Mail Fraud

Brian A. Bunnell, age 44, of Indianapolis, Indiana, was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud following a jury trial, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today.

An information was filed last year charging that Bunnell conspired to commit mail fraud with the object of defrauding various individuals who would be enticed to become members of a consumer buying business known as Midwest Direct in Canton, Ohio, in which Bunnell was a part owner. Bunnell also was a part owner in related clubs in Ft. Wayne, Indiana; Oakwood Village, Ohio; and Sharonsville, Ohio.

It was charged that Midwest salesmen falsely promised that Midwest could obtain merchandise directly from manufacturers and suppliers allowing club members to save substantial sums of money by purchasing merchandise at greatly discounted prices.

Midwest Direct used the United States mails to send postcards and letters advising they had a package or gift or offering a chance on winning a prize. Persons who visited the premises of Midwest Direct were subjected to a high-pressure sales pitch promoting the benefits of membership in Midwest Direct at a yearly membership cost ranging from $899 to $2,499, depending on how much the salesmen could extract from the prospective members.

Midwest salesmen falsely represented to prospective members that it had thousands of agreements with manufacturers and suppliers which allowed Midwest Direct to purchase merchandise at much lower prices not generally available to the public. In reality, Midwest Direct did not have the numbers of agreements the salesmen claimed and any savings were greatly exaggerated.

United States Attorney Dettelbach stated that the Midwest operation took in over $9 million from over 6,600 individuals from the sale of memberships at the stores located in Oakwood Village and Canton, Ohio from 2001 through April 2006. In April of 2006, the Midwest operations were closed down when the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the records of the company in Canton, Ohio.

Bunnell’s sentence will be determined by the presiding judge at the trial, the Hon. Christopher A. Boyko, after he reviews the factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation itself. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases it will be less than the maximum. In this case, the maximum term of imprisonment is 60 months on the conviction for conspiracy.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James C. Lynch, following an investigation by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Cleveland, Ohio, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mansfield, Ohio.