A former Huber Heights man could get 11 years in prison after he admitted Friday to a felony accusing him of running a telemarketing scheme that stretched from Ohio to Florida.

Theodore Thomas, 32, is characterized as the ringleader of the operation state Attorney General Mike DeWine and Miami County Prosecutor Gary Nasal said was responsible for stealing more than $2.8 million from thousands of victims in 41 states since 2007.

Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities. Information about a sentencing date was not immediately available.

DeWine called the guilty plea “a victory for all Ohioans and vindication for the thousands of people from across the country who fell victim to this criminal enterprise. Although he was part of a complex, multistate scheme … in the end, Theodore Thomas was nothing more than a common criminal who lied, cheated, and stole. Now he has to pay the price.”

In June 2012, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, in cooperation with Nasal and his office, indicted 18 individuals for crimes that arose out of the operation of United Property Sales, World Wide Land Marketing, and Nationwide Advertising and Marketing.

As of Friday, 15 of the 18 defendants have pleaded guilty. Trials are pending for the remaining three defendants. The first trial is scheduled to begin June 18.

Victims were allegedly told the suspects would sell their land to waiting buyers at lavish dinner shows in Las Vegas, Reno, and St. Louis. Other victims were told that investors in a solar energy plant had already agreed to buy their land for inflated value and they were required to prepay a closing costs fee to finalize the sale.

The indictment alleges there were actually never any buyers, closings or sales done during the lifetime of the company.

The suspects went to great lengths to make their scheme appear legitimate, according to DeWine and Nasal. Videos on their website purportedly show the suspects talking to a crowd in a video filmed at one of their Las Vegas dinner shows.

The indictment alleges that the video was actually filmed in an empty banquet room at the Brukner Nature Center in Troy.

The enterprise was founded in Ohio in 2007 and operated from many locations including Troy, Huber Heights and Vandalia. Later, the operation opened new branches in the Tampa, Fla., area.

“By working together, we were able to put this gang of scammers out of business and behind bars, which is right where they belong,” Nasal said.

DeWine said the Economic Crimes Unit from his office and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation worked with Nasal’s office and law enforcement in Florida, the counties of Miami and Clark and the city of Huber Heights “to find evidence, put it together, and get these scammers convicted.”