A New York U.S. District Court Judge has sentenced Howard S. Strauss convicted of selling vending business opportunity scams for millions, to serve 28 months in prison and pay $2,291,844 in restitution, according to Consumer Affairs. Mark Benowitz, was sentenced to 24 months in prison and $997,210 in restitution. Both men were sales representatives who pleaded guilty to fraud charges in connection with Multivend LLC, doing business as Vendstar, which sold misleading vending machine business opportunities.
In total, 22 have been charged with fraud in connection with Vendstar, including Vendstar managers and sales representatives, and the operators of locating companies recommended by Vendstar, according to the source. Only 3 defendants have been sentenced.
