Pinellas County telemarketers charged with defrauding more than 100 victims, ordered to pay over $1M

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Two Pinellas County telemarketers who defrauded over 100 individuals have been ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution.

During a Pinellas County Consumer Protection’s investigation, officials discovered that Marvin Scott and Chamera Bowman ran a fraudulent telemarketing business, “Nationwide Listings, Elite Property Listings Corp and Worldwide Property Listings LLC” between October 2017 and November 2020.

The county said Scott and Bowman solicited victims from 37 states, claiming they had buyers ready to purchase their vacant properties.

The State Attorney’s Office charged the suspects in 2022 with a scheme to defraud, along with an additional money laundering charge for Scott.

They both pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay $1,037,240 in restitution. Scott was sentenced to 15 years probation after paying $50,000 to the victims and was ordered to pay at least $12,000 a year, while Bowman was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

“These individuals lured victims with false promises, which can be financially and emotionally devastating,” said Doug Templeton, Chief Investigator for Pinellas County Consumer Protection. “We urge consumers to be cautious whenever they are solicited by telephone from individuals seeking payment for any services.”

Anyone who believes they could have been defrauded, or to report a scam, call 727-464-6200 or file a complaint here .

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