Business analyst gets 80 months in junk fax scam

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- A Milwaukee man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for his role in a blast fax operation that scammed thousands of small business owners across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The U.S. attorney's office says 43-year-old Shaun Smoker was given an 80-month prison term Wednesday in a case prosecuted out of Kansas against Florida firm PBS Global, Inc. Smoker was a business analyst for the company.

PBS made more than $6.5 million between 2003 and 2004 by targeting small business owners who were seeking to sell their operations. Investigators found more than 4,000 victims in 48 states in addition to some in Mexico and Canada.