U.S. Department of Justice

United States Attorney
Northern District of Ohio

Gregory A. White
United States Attorney

Robert W. Kern
Assistant U.S. Attorney
(216) 622-3836

Work At Home Program Scheme

Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that on June 1, 2006, Daniel Josic of Rochester Hills, Michigan, entered pleas of guilty to all 18 counts in an indictment returned against him on December 14, 2005, charging him with conspiracy, mail fraud, and money laundering, which involved a scheme to fraudulently collect fees for a supposed work-at-home program. Josic is scheduled to appear in United States District Court in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 15, 2006, for sentencing. As a part of his plea agreement, Daniel Josic has agreed to forfeit $500,000 to the government, and pay a fine of $250,000. The plea agreement also contemplates Daniel Josic serving a minimum of 47 months imprisonment as part of his sentence.

The United States Attorney's Office is undertaking a national effort to advise potential victims regarding the charges, as well as, Daniel Josic's plea of guilty to the fraud scheme which is believed to have victimized over 20,000 individuals across the country.

Besides Daniel Josic, two other persons were charged in the indictment, including Daniel Josic's brother, Jeremy Josic, age 55, of Oceanside, California, and Donna Bombard, age 41, of Sterling Heights, Michigan.

The indictment charged that from approximately March 1999 to in or about June 2003, the defendants conspired to commit a scheme to defraud thousands of people from all across the United States by falsely offering to pay individuals for a "work at home" business involving stuffing envelopes or stapling booklets for advertising to be mailed. The defendants promised to pay participants $5 to $10 for each envelope stuffed or booklet stapled. The participants were charged from $29 to $169 for an "application fee" which they were told would thereafter be refunded. The indictment charged that the defendants never intended to pay anyone for stuffing envelopes and the only purpose of the defendants' purported business was to collect application fees.

The indictment charged that the defendants collected at least $2 million from application fees received from interested persons across the country, and that the defendants would use various business names during the course of this scheme in order to avoid growing complaints against any one company. These names included the following:

Company Name Location Approx. Time Period
Central Communications Warren, MI 48090 June 2003
Avon Communications Monroe, MI 48161 Nov 2002- June 2003
Rainbow Publications Cleveland, OH 44106 April - July 2002
Lakeside Publications Troy, MI 48083 May 2002 - June 2003
Ocean Publishing Oceanside, California 2003
Avon Publishing Cleveland, OH 44106 March - May 2002
Horizon Publishing Fairview Park, OH 44126 Sept 2001 - May 2002
Monitor Publishing Akron, OH 44320 Sept 2001 - Nov 2001
Omni Publishing Akron, OH 44320 Feb 2001 - Jan 2002
Able Publishing Detroit, MI 48207 May 2001 - Dec 2001
Acme Publishing Royal Oak, MI 48067 Feb 2001
ABC Publishing Detroit, MI 48207 Feb - May 2001
Griffin Enterprises Highland Park, MI 48203 January 2000
Consumer Publishing Centerline, MI 48015 July - August 1999
Apex Publishing Akron, OH 44333 July - August 1999
KLM Publishing Utica, MI 48318 July - August 1999
Global Consumer Information Carlsbad, California June 1999 - April 2002
Financial Publishing Centerline, MI 48015 July - August 1999
D.J. Company Sterling Heights, MI 48311 March 1999 - Dec 2001

On May 18, 2006, Donna Bombard, entered a plea of guilty to count 1 of the indictment, charging her with conspiracy to commit mail fraud. As part of a plea agreement, Ms. Bombard has agreed to cooperate and testify for the government.

The trial of the remaining defendant, Jeremy Josic, is scheduled to begin on August 28, 2006, before United States District Judge Christopher A. Boyko, in the United States Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

A copy of the indictment is appended to this release and is available on the website of the United States Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Ohio at www.usdoj.gov/usao/ohn. In addition, a toll-free line has been established to keep victims in this case informed of the case status, scheduled court hearings, and their rights under federal law. Anyone who believes they may be a victim in this case are encouraged to call this toll-free number, 1-866-715-7625, or visit the website.