Feds: Westbury man pleads guilty in mail scheme targeting 'vulnerable"

A Westbury man admitted Wednesday to his role in a mass-mailing scheme in which "elderly and other vulnerable victims" paid a fee in exchange for a prize that never came, federal prosecutors said.

Carmine Maietta, 75, faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to committing mail fraud, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip, which prosecuted the case.

Prosecutors described the criminal enterprise as a "multi-million dollar mass-mailing scheme" but did not provide specific information about how much money changed hands in the operation.

Between November 2013 and November 2018, Maietta sent "fraudulent prize notification mailings to thousands of consumers." None of the recipients received a prize after paying the fee, federal prosecutors said.

With his guilty plea, "Maietta admits to deceiving elderly and other vulnerable victims into believing they had won cash prizes when, in reality, he was simply pocketing their hard-earned funds," said Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District, in a news release. "This office is committed to protecting the vulnerable from the financial harm caused by fraudulent mail solicitation schemes."

Mass-mailing schemes "often trick elderly victims into sending money based on false promises of large cash prizes," acting Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton said in a news release.

Maietta is the third Long Island resident connected to the case who has entered a guilty plea to committing mail fraud conspiracy. Five defendants in total have pleaded guilty.

Steven L. Diaz, 53, of Mount Sinai, pleaded guilty in February of last year and Anthony Kafeiti, 61, of Port Jefferson, pleaded guilty in July, prosecutors said. Prosecutors allege the two were named coordinators of the operation in October 2019.

Charles Kafeiti, 58, of Scottsdale, Arizona, pleaded guilty in December 2020 and Drew Wilson, 63, of British Columbia, pleaded guilty in August of last year. Prosecutors did not say if Anthony Kafeiti and Charles Kafeiti are related.

The four other defendants also face up to 20 years in prison, prosecutors said.