Richard Morsovillo
Dataline Technologies received three years probation after selling customers three or four cartridges when the client believed they were only buying one.
Waynesville Daily Guide mentioned the case and guilty plea, which Springfield News Leader reported on at the time in November 2014, in an article looking at some of the cases the Western District of Missouri in the USA has overseen in fiscal year 2015, collecting over $25.5 milllion (€23.5 million).
Dataline was ordered to pay $398,000 (€368,000) restitution in addition to the probation period, after its telemarketers lied to customers between 2007 and 2009 to boost sales.
The company told customers it had a surplus of ink cartridges it was selling at discounted rates, and charged clients a 25 percent restocking fee when the customers sent back the unwanted cartridges, despite Dataline not having a warehouse.
The plea agreement, signed by President Richard Morsovillo, also stated that the business lied about the quality and values of its products, with Midwest Air Traffic Control among the companies that purchased the ink cartridges.
Dataline pleaded guilty to engaging in deceptive sales practices as well as to mail fraud, as it carried out shipping and received payments via the US postal service, and Waynesville Daily Guide reported that the company is “no longer in business”.