2 Las Vegas men sentenced to prison in telemarketing scheme

Two Las Vegas men were sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison Wednesday for their involvement in a $14 million telemarketing scheme that targeted small-business owners.

Alan W. Rodrigues, 59, and Mark L. Bausch, 44, each pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 30 counts of wire fraud and six counts of money laundering, according to a release by the U.S. attorney’s office in Nevada. Rodrigues was sentenced to 10 years, while Bausch, who also went by the name Mark Eting, was sentenced to eight years.

Bausch and Rodrigues also agreed to pay more than $13 million in restitution to victims and between about $630,000 and $1 million in criminal forfeiture money judgment, the release said.

According to the plea agreements, Bausch, Rodrigues and their co-conspirators operated four telemarketing companies between March 2009 to October 2010. They charged small-business owners and offered to obtain grants from government and private entities for the customers, the release said.

The men had their employees research funding entities and send letters to customers and funders, knowing that many customers would not qualify for the grants. The two also conducted seminars throughout the country to attract customers.

Bausch, Rodrigues and other co-defendants were indicted in connection with the telemarketing scheme in December 2014, the release said.

Several co-defendants have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced in connection with the scheme, including Craig Rudolph, sentenced to six years and five months in prison; Jonas Bowen, sentenced to five years and three months; Lee Panelli, sentenced to three years and five months; and David Bergstrom, sentenced to four years and three months, according to the release.

In a separate case, co-defendant Joseph Marfoglia was sentenced to 10 years and five months in prison.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.