Woman gets 17 years in prison for telemarketing scam

By Angel K. Brooks

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Marietta woman was sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison Thursday for her role in a multimillion dollar telemarketing scam, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Kara Singleton Adams, 40, was found guilty in November of nine counts of wire fraud, seven counts of structuring financial transactions and two counts of conspiracy.

“The defendant’s businesses preyed on consumers who were in debt and wanted to reduce their credit card payments," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said. "Adams will now spend 17 years in prison for defrauding these victims of their hard-earned money.”

The victims of the scam were located in more than 40 states, and the losses totaled several million dollars, authorities said.

Adams was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison, plus three years of supervised release. She also must pay just over $1 million in restitution.

Adams and three others used various company names in 2008 and 2009 and conspired to defraud customers by promising to reduce their credit card interest rates but never delivering, authorities said. Consumers were told they would become debt-free faster using the program, which cost between $749 and $1,495. They also were promised full refunds if they did not save at least $4,000 using the program.

The defendants mailed their customers fake "financial analysis" payment plans with figures manipulated to indicate savings of at least $4,000 when such savings did not exist, thus denying them refunds, authorities said.

Adams' three co-defendants in the case were sentenced Jan. 6. Her husband, Jason James Eyer, 36, of Marietta got 10 years, six months in prison. James Adolph Schoenholz, 39, of Atlanta received a sentence of two years, six months. Orlando's Brittany Dunphy, 40, was sentenced to one year, three months.