Tucson, AZ man pleads guilty to participating in $23 million fraud scheme

April 19th, 2010 - 11:25 pm ICT by BNO News  

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA (BNO NEWS) – A Tucson, Arizona man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges involving mail fraud and money laundering related to a $23 million fraud scheme, prosecutors said.

Mario Easevoli, 33, admitted to conspiring to commit mail fraud and conspiring to commit money laundering. Easevoli is the last defendant involved in a fraud scheme that brought a multi-million loss to Cisco Systems Inc. (Cisco), a leader in the design and manufacturing of computer network routers and other equipment.

Easevoli and his wife Jennifer Easevoli, also known as Jeniffer Leigh Harmon, were doing business as Synergy Communications Corporation (Synergy). Easevoli was the founder and president, Jennifer Easevoli was the vice president, and co-defendant, Jason Allen Conway, was an agent and employee.

From January 2003 to July 2005, the defendant submitted fraudulent claims to Cisco in order to receive replacement parts under SMARTnet contract. Cisco offers SMARTnet, a contract service covering Cisco equipment that allows end users to obtain technical support and replacement parts without having to return the failed or defective part first. Such contracts are not transferable but if the product is transferred to another party, the new user can register and obtain a new SMARTnet contract.

Easevoli received replacement parts and sold them in the grey market, depositing the proceeds into a Synergy bank account. The defendants created over 50 fake company names and 35 fictional personal names. They also instructed Cisco to mail replacement parts to private mailboxes as well as residential and commercial addresses in seven states.

If convicted on all charges, Easevoli faces a maximum penalty for 20 years in prison and three years of supervised release.

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