The company’s fraudulent practices got more egregious over time, but Epstein also took defensive steps to avoid getting caught. If a victim business complained to its state’s attorney general, he would stop targeting that state. The company changed names a few times to hide the true nature of its practices from customers.

“We seized two box trucks full of documentation from the company’s offices,” Bender said. “Employees’ hand-written notes, when matched up with voice recordings on the calls, showed that the company was deliberately sending products to customers who didn’t want them.”

“There was a treasure trove of information, and it really helped us to understand the scheme and realize that it was more than deceptive or unfair trade practices—people were being scammed into paying for products they never ordered. It was outright fraud,” said Postal Inspector Bryan Hanlon of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who worked the case with Bender and investigators from the Internal Revenue Service.

Epstein’s company defrauded victims out of an estimated $58 million. Unfortunately, some employees at the victim organizations lost their jobs for being duped by Midway.

Epstein eventually sold his majority share of the company for $15 million but kept an ownership stake, received a regular paycheck, and continued to advise and supervise Midway employees. And he used his ill-gotten gains to live a lavish lifestyle, including a second home in Florida, high-end jewelry, and luxury cars. He had two luxury cars that were each worth more than $300,000.

“Eric Epstein’s conspiracy was a scheme motivated by pure greed. Through false and fraudulent business practices, Epstein not only personally enriched himself but he also cheated several businesses out of more than $50 million in the process,” said Kelly R. Jackson, acting special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation’s field office in Washington, D.C.

In May, Epstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. In September, he was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison. Eight other company officials have pleaded guilty and received prison terms of between four months and six years.

“Our biggest goal in a case like this is to deter companies from engaging in these fraudulent practices,” Bender said. “We’ve seen similar companies either cleaning up their practices or shutting down.”