Mitchell Berman, Robert Gallo, and Steven Axelrod, South Florida Businessmen, Arrested for Fraud

Mitchell Berman of Boca Raton, Robert Gallo and Coconut Creek, and Steven Axelrod of Wellington were all arrested Friday after they were accused of misrepresenting business opportunities to customers for over a decade, news sources report. Berman, 54, Gallo, 52, and Axelrod, 69, were all booked into jail on charges of mail fraud conspiracy, federal mail fraud, and criminal contempt of court. Berman faces an additional charge of criminal contempt of court. It is unclear whether the defendants qualified for bail bond. The press did not specify a lawyer for any of them. According to reports, from 2000 to October 2011, Berman and Gallo ran a string of coffee companies one after the other out of Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties: Royal Gourmet Coffee, Selective Services Business, Cambridge Coffee, South Beach Coffee, and Best Gourmet Coffee. The three defendants reportedly worked as salespersons, offering potential customers the opportunity to buy coffee display racks. Reports say customers were asked to put forward a minimum of $10,000 for the business opportunities. The defendants allegedly told customers they could possibly make "substantial profits" and were offered assistance in selecting the best locations to make the most out of their investment. However, "Purchasers made little to no money on their investments, were unable to find profitable locations or accounts, and were not provided the support promised by defendants," reports say. When customers invariably began to complain, the defendants allegedly closed down one coffee rack business and immediately opened another under a new name. The defendants allegedly tried to hide their involvement in the companies by using pseudonyms. Berman sometimes went by the alias Brian Griffin; Gallo used several aliases, including Vincent Pastone and Bobby Marion; Axelrod sometimes used the alias Michael Hutton, reports say. Image may be NSFW.
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