4 Found Guilty in Sales Scam

Four people were convicted Tuesday of fraud in the telemarketing of securities for a company that falsely claimed to manufacture high-quality latex gloves and condoms.

Kirk Kuykendoll, 53, of Thousand Oaks; Henry Perrin, 60, of Van Nuys; and Sharman Walker, 49, and Anthony Durant, 43, both of Canoga Park, were found guilty after a six-week trial in Los Angeles federal court.

The four worked on commission as telemarketers selling a private stock offering on behalf of Woodland Hills-based Assured International Inc. Investors were told they could double their money because Assured was about to go public.

Prosecutors said the company raked in nearly $1.4 million during an 18-month period in 1998 and 1999.

Assured’s owner, Sam Harris, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and contempt charges earlier this year.

The National Assn. of Securities Dealers barred him from selling stock early in 1998, and the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an injunction against Harris and Assured in 1999.

Nevertheless, Assured continued to operate underground, using apartments rented by Walker and Kuykendoll in Canoga Park and Woodland Hills, authorities said.

Assistant U.S. Attys. Michael M. Farhang and Douglas M. Fuchs, who prosecuted the case, said a number of the scam’s victims were elderly people who had little or no investment experience. They said some invested as much as $100,000.

The four defendants, who remain free on bail, are to be sentenced Aug.12 by U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with help from the SEC.