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A fiber optic connection that can handle 10Gbps connection speeds.
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Optical Carrier Level 192 - Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TX)Section: METROEdition: NORTHEASTPage: 12 NE Tarrant men indicted in e-scamThousands of people lost millions of dollars in Internet scheme, FBIsays.by Kelly MelhartStar-Telegram Staff WriterTwo Northeast Tarrant County men are expected to surrender to federalauthorities next week in San Diego in response to an indictment thataccuses them of taking part in an Internet scam that bilked thousandsof people out of millions of dollars.Robert Harry Shields, 51, of Colleyville and Robert Terrance Hart, 56,of Southlake were among those indicted after a joint operation of theDepartment of Justice and the FBI called Operation Cyber Loss.The operation resulted in charges against 90 people and companies aspart of a nationwide crackdown on Internet fraud. The investigationwas conducted by the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, an arm of theFBI that was launched about a year ago to focus on Web-based crime.Federal authorities said at least $117 million was lost by more than56,000 people through online scams. The scams included onlineauctions, the systematic nondelivery of mer- chandise purchased on theInternet, credit card fraud and multilevel marketing ploys.Shields and Hart are accused of taking part in The Enterprise, anoperation based in California that fleeced 3,000 people out of morethan $50 million, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Peak, who isbased in San Diego and is handling the case against the men.Shields and Hart could not be reached to comment. According to courtdocuments, neither has hired an attorney.The Enterprise used 30 telemarketing groups nationwide to contactinvestors and offer them limited partnerships in Internet homeshopping malls, Internet service providers and 900-number pay-per-callservices, Peak said.The investors were told that they and a corporation would operate thepartnerships. But they were not told that the corporation's fee formanaging the partnerships amounted to 85 percent of the investment,authorities said.Each offering promised high returns, but investors received little orno money, Peak said.Federal authorities said Shields headed the telemarketing operationsthat were based in Tampa, Fla., and Las Vegas.Hart and a third man, Lawrence Francis Long, are accused of workingfor Shields."They're just telemarketers, just like all these others," Peak said."They're all the same. It's just where they are in the pecking order."Long pleaded guilty on May 4 in a federal court in Tampa to conspiracyto defraud the United States and using manipulative and deceptivedevices. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 3.Indictments against Hart and Shields were handed up last week, butwere unsealed Wednesday when Operation Cyber Loss was unveiled.Because the indictments were made in San Diego, Hart and Shields willmake their first court appearances in California, federal authoritiessaid.They are each charged with six counts of various types of fraud aswell as money laundering."It is easiest to charge where the entire operation is headquartered,"said John Kingston, FBI assistant special agent in the San Diegooffice.Victims of Internet fraud can report their experiences to the InternetFraud Complaint Center at www.ifccfbi.gov.
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