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Owners of Septic tank scam plead guilty to fraud
By Palm Beach Business.com
WEST PALM BEACH — A Palm Beach County man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for a scam involving a septic tank treatment product that took customers for about $1 million, according to federal prosecutors.
Gary Kranz, 48, of Palm Beach County pleaded guilty to the charge, as did Marc Rona, 43, of California and the company itself, FBK Products LLC. A third defendant, Steven Kranz, 50, of Connecticut, pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony.
According to court records, Gary Kranz, Rona and a team of telemarketers made sales calls to customers throughout the U.S. claiming that the product they were peddling, variously called FBK and Septic Remedy, would eliminate the need to have their septic tanks pumped.
They also told customers that government regulations had mandated that toilet paper be reformulated, and that Septic Remedy would work to break down the new paper. They told customers that FBK and Septic Remedy were affiliated with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Agriculture Department.
Their sales pitch was effective enough to convince some customers to buy more than 70 years worth of the useless product.
The four defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by federal Judge Kenneth Ryskamp on Feb. 8.
Four other defendants pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges a year ago.
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