Medford Men Plead Guilty in Charity Scam
A Medford man and his son were sentenced to prison time after pleading guilty to using fraudulent telemarketing practices to deceive over 1,000 donors to police and veterans’ charitable organizations.
Richard Seeley, 39, also pleaded guilty to using the funds he obtained for his own personal use, as well to charges of drug distribution, drug possession, witness intimidation and threats.
It is estimated that between August 2006 and January 2008, 1,000 donors were defrauded and well over $100,000 in donations was misappropriated through an elaborate scheme involving the Seeley’s and three other defendants.
The elder Seeley pleaded guilty to a variety of fraud, larceny, and drug charges and was sentenced to serve four and a half to six and a half years in state prison.
In June of 2009 Brandon was sentenced to serve two and a half years in the House of Correction, with the sentence suspended for five years, for his role in defrauding donors. On January 22, 2010, Brandon’s probation was revoked for failure to comply with his probation conditions. He is currently serving a sentence of two and a half years in the House of Correction.
According to Attorney General Martha Coakley, her office began an investigation in August 2006 after the matter was referred by a veterans’ charitable organization. In addition, the Attorney General’s Non-Profit/Public Charities Division Division had also received multiple complaints.
Investigators say Seeley ran a telemarketing company called CMR Marketing (CMR), also known as All Star Marketing, based in Medford. Authorities discovered that he created an entire business and employed a staff to engage in an ongoing fraudulent scheme. Seeley admitted that between August 2006 and January 2008, he and his co-conspirators used fraudulent telemarketing and charitable solicitation practices to deceive and steal from over 1,000 donors who thought they were giving to veterans’ and police charities. Seeley admitted that he and his co-conspirators instead stole donations and used the proceeds for their personal use. 
Seeley, through his telemarketing company, was supposed to be engaged in charitable solicitations for the Veteran’s Charitable Foundation (VCF), of Boynton Beach, FL, and a retired police officers organization. Instead, much of the money given by donors never made it to the veterans and retired police officers it was intended to benefit. The telemarketers used untruthful and misleading statements to take money from donors by false pretenses. These misrepresentations included false claims about the identities of the charities for which they were raising money, the use of those funds, the status of other charitable organizations, and the paid status of the telemarketing and charity staffs.
In one example, while CMR/All Star was fundraising for VCF, Seeley, his son Brandon, and some of Seeley’s employees would claim that they were affiliated with the New England Paralyzed Veterans Association (NEPVA), and that money raised would benefit that organization and would be used for particular purposes such as scholarships or phone cards.
Additionally, Seeley pled guilty to stealing donation checks payable to other charities and depositing those checks directly into VCF and All Star Marketing’s bank accounts.
Seeley had also contracted to raise funds for the Retired Boston Police Officers’ Association (RBPOA) beginning in December 2006. Under CMR’s contract with RBPOA, CMR/All Star would solicit donations from potential donors, pick up the donations, and deposit them directly into RBPOA’s bank account. Seeley admitted that he and a co-conspirator stole both financial and in-kind donations they solicited, as well as made fraudulent misrepresentations to obtain money from donors.
Two other defendants, Lewis and Frank Cariello, have been charged in connection with the case and their cases are still pending. Borden pleaded guilty in June and was sentenced to serve two and a half years in prison.
Seeley also got busted on drug charges when police found out he was dealing drugs while he was supposed to be in court. In the course of that investigation, Seeley made two drug sales to an undercover State Trooper, and was in the middle of a sale to another customer when he was arrested. Seeley pleaded guilty to several drug charges, including possession and distribution.
Information from Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office was used for this story.