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In a creative scam that bilked thousands of people across the country out of an estimated $1 million, a promised return of 8000 percent on the money invested was the carrot that was dangled in front of the victims.
John Austin Bennett and Michael Patrick Corrigan were the alleged masterminds and Corrigan’s girlfriend, Raquel Mendez, expertly played the part of the widow of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. The victims were told that the widow needed help in liquidating the $3 billion estate of her slain husband.
The scam was perpetrated by numerous calls made through a telemarketing firm. When the money began to pour in, another party was brought in to help launder the funds. Enter Goodlettsville attorney Timothy Leo Bowden, who helped direct the money through Middle Tennessee banks.
With a ready supply of cash, the scam artists expanded and formed Courtesy Consumer Association. CCA specialized in signing up members and then helping those members get phone service, credit cards and insurance for $39 to $99 fees.
And as if those scams were not enough from one two-man fraud tag-team, the two started WorldWide Lottery and American Indian Lottery by soliciting start-up money from investors throughout the world. As many as 20,000 people may have been taken in the scam.
An infiltrator helped authorities break up the schemes two years ago, but the road to prosecution and sentencing has been a long one. Mendez was given a short jail sentence after pleading guilty to her role and Bowden received an 18-month sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of mail fraud. Corrigan was sentenced to ten years in prison and Bennett to six years plus $1 million in fines and restitution.
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