Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice Tax Division; Michael Clemens, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Brian J. Wimpling, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, announced today that defendant, Arne Soreide, former Chief Executive Officer of Accutel Communications Inc. (“Accutel”), was convicted by a jury on July 6, 2004 of all sixty-eight (68) counts of an Indictment in a case tried before United States District Court Judge James Cohn in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The Indictment charged Soreide with conspiring to defraud long distance telephone customers and suppliers of telecommunication services by “slamming” and “cramming” telephone customers’ long distance telephone service and defrauding the suppliers, twenty-six (26) counts of mail and wire fraud, thirty-nine (39) counts of money laundering, and two (2) counts of filing false tax returns. In addition, the jury, on July 7, 2004, determined that Soreide should forfeit $7.5 million in criminal proceeds, along with his waterfront residence in Boca Raton, Florida.

“Slamming” refers to the practice of deceptively switching a telephone customer’s long distance carrier, without the customer’s permission. “Cramming” refers to the practice of placing unsolicited monthly recurring charges on a customer’s bills.

The government’s evidence showed that Soreide, in addition to engaging in the referenced practices, obtained long distance service from wholesale long distance carriers without fully paying for those services and that Soreide contracted with rating or billing companies to facilitate the billing of Accutel’s purported telephone customers while not fully paying them and diverted Accutel assets for his personal use. Soreide also laundered the proceeds of his fraudulent scheme and filed income tax returns that misrepresented his true individual and corporate 1998 income by approximately $3.5 million.

Soreide faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of five (5) years, a $250,000 fine, and restitution as to the conspiracy count. Soreide also faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years and a $250,000 fine on each of the mail and wire fraud counts, a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years and a $250,000 fine on the money laundering counts, and a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of three (3) years and a $250,000 fine on each of the false tax return counts.

A pre-sentencing hearing, with the same empaneled jury, is scheduled to be held on July 21, 2004. Soreide’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 24, 2004.

Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service, and thanked the Department of Justice Tax Division for its assistance. This case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Neil Karadbil and Department of Justice Tax Attorney Jeffrey Neiman.