TELEMARKETER PLEADS GUILTY TO CHEATING ELDERLY WOMAN

A Buffalo, N.Y., telemarketer pleaded guilty to cheating an elderly Cape Girardeau woman out of thousands of dollars and faces up to seven years in prison.

Martin T. Boyd, 30, pleaded guilty Monday to two felony consumer fraud charges brought by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.

Boyd was arrested in August at a Western Union office in Buffalo while attempting to obtain money wired to him by the Cape Girardeau woman.

The victim had paid between $8,000 and $9,000 to Boyd before contacting the attorney general's office. With her assistance, Nixon's office had tape recorded several phone calls during which Boyd requested money.

During several taped telephone conversations, Boyd told the woman he was a representative of the New York attorney general's office who was working with the FBI and had recovered $35,000 she had paid to fraudulent businesses.

He said she had won a cash prize of more than $10,000 and was required to pay taxes and fees of up to $200 to receive the prize.

He also said he was a Federal Express employee who would help her send the money via Western Union.