PHOENIX – A Chandler man has been sentenced in connection with a telemarketing fraud scheme that stole millions of dollars from more than a thousand victims across the country, federal officials said Tuesday.

Brian Hopkins, 62, of Chandler was sentenced on July 16 to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.8 million in restitution, according to a release from the Arizona district of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Hopkins pleaded guilty to mail fraud, conspiring to defraud the United States and false statement on a tax return.

Hopkins is the third co-conspirator to be sentenced in connection with the scheme.

Two of Hopkins’ co-conspirators were also sentenced over the last year.

Richard Kuhlmann, Jr., 58, of Tempe was sentenced on May 30 to 42 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,140,231 in restitution. Kuhlmann pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States, mail fraud and transactional money laundering, the release stated.

David Bartlett, 54, of Scottsdale was sentenced on Nov. 24 to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $500,000 in restitution. Barlett pleaded guilty to mail fraud.

Kuhlmann and Hopkins owned and operated an Arizona-based telemarketing company that went by various names, including GTT Financial, authorities said.

GTT Financial called potential customers, offering to help reduce their credit card interest rates. Those who used GTT Financial’s services to successfully lower their interest rates were then targeted by the fraud scheme.

“GTT Financial employees, including Bartlett, told victim-customers they could purchase a ‘sales lead’ for $1 and that each ‘sales lead’ represented another potential customer for GTT Financial’s credit card debt service,” the release stated.

“Victim-customers were promised a portion of any fees paid to GTT from each sales lead and told they would receive a significant return on their investment.”

In reality, officials said, there was no “sales lead” investment opportunity and money from the victim-customers went to the co-conspirators and other employees of GTT Financial.

Between 2014 and 2019, the co-conspirators raised more than $10 million for the fictitious “sales lead” investment from more than a thousand victim-customers across the United States, according to the release.