Gainesville, GA, June 23, 2006--A former Hall County flooring supplier has been sentenced to three years in prison for racketeering, the Georgia Attorney General's Office said Thursday, according the the Gainesville Times.
Cornelius Coleman "Cole" Martin III pleaded guilty Tuesday and was ordered by Hall County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Oliver to serve a total of 20 years for duping customers from January 2003 to April 2004, said Attorney General Thurbert Baker in a statement.
Martin will serve the balance of his sentence on probation working to repay more than $500,000 in restitution to customers who purchased flooring from BeaverFlooring.com.
Baker said Martin and his father, Cornelius Coleman "Neil" Martin Jr., ran the business out of their Gainesville home.
The younger Martin has agreed to testify and cooperate in the case against his father.
The two reportedly scammed customers through the Internet with low prices on high-quality wood flooring.
They sent out samples of quality flooring for which they then received payment, according to information presented in court.
Customers never received the flooring they ordered or received inferior quality flooring, Baker said.
More than 120 people in Hall County fell victim to the scheme.
Martin is currently in federal prison in New York on unrelated charges. He will be returned to the Georgia Department of Corrections to serve the balance of his state sentence when he is released from New York, Baker said.
