Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Bergen County NJ Business
A Florida man is headed to prison after being convicted of defrauding a business in Bergen County, New Jersey.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, the suspect used fake invoices to commit fraud and steal money from several factoring businesses. One of the defrauded businesses was located in Bergen County NJ, while the others were located in Las Vegas and California.
The suspect sold the businesses accounts receivable at a discount in exchange for short-term financing. However, the suspect was using a fake transportation company to sell false transportation services to the other companies.
The total amount of the suspect’s fraud was more than $220,000.
The suspect, a 61-year-old man who resides in Florida, reportedly went by the nickname “Mark Sawyer” while committing the fraud crimes.
Federal authorities received a tip about the suspect and began an investigation. Police eventually arrested the suspect and charged him with wire fraud.
Now the suspect will be spending the next few years behind bars after being sentenced to a term of incarceration of four years. The suspect recently appeared in federal court for a sentencing hearing, with the US District Court judge ordering that he serve four years in a federal prison. Additionally, the suspect will be subject to parole terms and supervised release for three years after he completes his sentence.
If the suspect had not reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, he would have faced as many as 20 years behind bars.
For more information about this case, read the NJ.com article, “Man Gets 4 Years after Scamming Bergen Biz Out of $220K.”