Grandmother in $3-Million Fraud Sought

Federal authorities are searching the Los Angeles area for a 68-year-old grandmother accused of swindling about 100 victims out of more than $3 million in a wholesale carpet investment fraud scheme, the FBI said Tuesday.

FBI spokesman Fred Reagan said Gertrude M. Pruett has been a fugitive since April, 1985, when she and her son, Harold, were indicted by a federal grand jury on fraud charges. Harold Pruett was convicted of 20 counts of fraud last year and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Gertrude Pruett solicited investors in a carpet company called Carpetmasters, according to Reagan. He said she and her son claimed they sold millions of dollars in pre-sold carpeting annually, but actually sold almost no carpeting at all.

“She took flight to Sri Lanka after the indictment, but has returned to the Los Angeles area and may be working as a housekeeper,” Reagan said. “Investors and employees remember her as a sweet grandmotherly type who baked fruitcakes during the holidays. On occasions she has sought employment as a secretary or housekeeper.”

Reagan and Assistant U.S. Atty. Ronald Nessim, who prosecuted the case against Harold Pruett, described Gertrude Pruett as a woman with light brown hair and brown eyes. They said she is 5 foot 7 and 160 pounds and wears glasses or contact lenses.