Prosecutors said Pearse and his co-conspirators used a practice called “auto-subscribing” to bilk unwitting customers for unsolicited messages about celebrity gossip, horoscopes, jokes, love tips and trivia.
An Australian man has pleaded guilty to involvement in what US prosecutors called a scheme to bilk hundreds of thousands of mobile phone users out of more than $US50 million for unwanted text messaging services.
According to a plea agreement, federal guidelines recommend that the Sydney man serve 97 to 121 months in prison, athough Torres can impose a different sentence. Pearse also agreed to forfeit about $US10.16 million.in January, and will remain in custody until his scheduled October 7 sentencing. Victims were charged $US9.99 a month even if they ignored or deleted the messages, and according to court papers often knew nothing was amiss until garbled entries such as “25184USBFIQMIG” and “888906150 BrnStorm23981” showed up on their phone bills.
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