PHOENIX — Three men from the Phoenix metro area have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a long-running telemarketing scheme that defrauded over a thousand victims nationwide and stole millions through a fake investment opportunity, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Brian Hopkins, 62, of Chandler, was the latest to be sentenced in the case. On July 16, he received a 21-month prison term and was ordered to pay more than $1.8 million in restitution. Hopkins had pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including mail fraud, conspiracy to defraud the government, and filing a false tax return.
His sentencing follows those of his two co-defendants, Richard Kuhlmann, Jr., 58, of Tempe, and David Bartlett, 54, of Scottsdale.
Others already sentenced in the fraudulent operation
Kuhlmann was sentenced on May 30 to three and a half years in prison and must pay over $2.1 million in restitution. He had admitted guilt to conspiracy, mail fraud, and money laundering. Bartlett, who worked for the company and also pleaded guilty to mail fraud, received a 24-month sentence in November 2024 along with a $500,000 restitution order.
Scheme disguised as investment in “sales leads”
The fraud operated under the name GTT Financial, a telemarketing business based in Arizona and led by Hopkins and Kuhlmann. The company initially pitched services to help people lower their credit card interest rates. Once trust was established, GTT Financial sales reps — including Bartlett — would contact customers again, offering what they described as an investment in “sales leads” for just $1 each.
Customers were told they could earn a share of profits generated from other clients who bought into GTT’s debt relief services through these so-called leads. They were promised a lucrative return.
But federal investigators say the entire opportunity was fictitious. The funds collected from customers were funneled to the conspirators and used for personal and business expenses, with no actual investment occurring.
$10 million stolen over five-year period
From 2014 to 2019, the operation raised more than $10 million by luring in over a thousand victims across the country with fake promises of investment returns.
The case was investigated by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division’s Phoenix Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raymond Woo and Matthew Doyle from the District of Arizona led the prosecution.
