Three Arizona Men Sentenced in Telemarketing Scheme That Sold Fake "Sales Leads" for $1 Each

The bottom line: the scheme began with a legitimate-sounding call about lowering credit card interest rates, then turned satisfied customers into investment fraud victims.

The defendants

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona:

• Brian Hopkins pleaded guilty to mail fraud, conspiring to defraud the United States and false statement on a tax return. He received 21 months and more than $1.8 million in restitution.
• Richard Kuhlmann, Jr., 58, of Tempe, Arizona, was sentenced on May 30, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Susan M. Brnovich to 42 months in prison and $2,140,231 in restitution. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States, mail fraud and transactional money laundering.
• David Bartlett, 54, of Scottsdale, Arizona, was sentenced on November 24, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to 24 months in prison and more than $500,000 in restitution. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud.

How the scheme worked

Kuhlmann and Hopkins owned and operated an Arizona telemarketing company that used several names, including GTT Financial. The company called potential customers and offered to help reduce their credit card interest rates.

Customers who successfully lowered their rates through GTT Financial became targets. Employees, including Bartlett, told them they could buy a "sales lead" for $1. Each lead supposedly represented another potential customer for GTT Financial's credit card debt service. Victims were told they would share in the fees GTT would collect from each lead and would realize a substantial return.

In reality, there was no sales lead investment. The money went to the co-conspirators and other GTT Financial employees. Between 2014 and 2019, they raised more than $10 million from more than a thousand victims.

IRS Criminal Investigation's Phoenix Field Office investigated.

Why it matters

This case shows how a telemarketing relationship can be abused after the first sale. The company used the trust it earned from one service to pitch an investment that did not actually exist. Prosecutors charged the owners and an employee who made the pitches.

What this means for you

1. Do not sell existing customers investments or revenue-sharing deals related to your own business.
2. Train sales staff that repeating a false pitch could lead to personal criminal liability.
3. Ensure upsells are truthful, documented and related to a real product.
4. Scrutinize scripts used to discuss interest rate reductions so that every claim is accurate.

A satisfied customer is not a prospect for an invented investment.