PDA

View Full Version : Polling Company Owner Sentenced To Prison In Fraud Case




JoshLowry
07-12-2007, 12:09 PM
http://www.courant.com/news/custom/topnews/hc-pollconvicted-0711,0,2852970,print.story?coll=hc_tab01_layout

Polling Company Owner Sentenced To Prison In Fraud Case

The Associated Press
4:42 PM EDT, July 11, 2007

An owner of a company that conducted polls for President Bush, Sen. Joe Lieberman and other candidates was sentenced Wednesday to more than two years in prison for ordering employees to falsify survey results, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Tracy Costin, 47, of Madison was ordered to serve 27 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said.

Costin, who owned and ran DataUSA Inc. of Guilford, also must repay more than $82,700 to several clients and $168,900 to the Internal Revenue Service, O'Connor said.

She pleaded guilty in September 2006 to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and willfully failing to file tax returns.

Costin admitted in her plea last year that she conspired to falsify survey and polling results between 2001 and 2004 to meet deadlines or other requirements that DataUSA otherwise could not satisfy.

She also admitted that she directed other DataUSA employees to falsify results in several ways, including changing demographic information such as gender to satisfy client requirements.

According to a federal indictment, Costin told employees to alter poll data and managers at the company told employees to "talk to cats and dogs" when instructing them to fabricate the surveys. Prosecutors say in some instances all survey answers were fabricated or surveys were completed after the respondent being interviewed had hung up the phone.

A 2004 FBI affidavit in support of a search warrant quotes a supervisor of the company estimating that 50 percent of the data sent to Bush's campaign was falsified.

FBI Special Agent Jeff Rovelli, who wrote the affidavit, said in an interview with The Associated Press that investigators were not able to verify the claim related to Bush because that data was not located and analyzed.

The company primarily did internal polls for candidates rather than the type widely quoted in the news media, authorities said.

Copyright © 2007, The Associated Press

WannaBfree
07-12-2007, 12:13 PM
just what I wanted to hear! DIGG it!

:)

PatriotOne
07-12-2007, 12:55 PM
I long for the days when when this kind of stuff was shocking. :(

PatriotOne
07-12-2007, 12:56 PM
just what I wanted to hear! DIGG it!

:)

Are you posting at Digg or shall I do it?

Dan Klaus
07-12-2007, 12:57 PM
I long for the days when when this kind of stuff was shocking.

expressed my feeling exactly...

WannaBfree
07-12-2007, 01:32 PM
Are you posting at Digg or shall I do it?

please do - don't know a thing about doing that - thanks

WannaBfree
07-16-2007, 11:04 AM
bumpity bump