Craig Cinelli, Wire Fraud, New Jersey 2019
A New Jersey scrap metal company owner has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for operating a 17-year conspiracy that defrauded customers out of millions of dollars.
Craig Cinelli, 49, of Allendale, New Jersey, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court on . He previously pleaded guilty to Count One of an indictment that charged him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Cinelli, who was the minority owner of Cinelli Iron & Metal Co. (CIMCO), used a variety of fraudulent business practices to buy scrap metal from customers for less than the company should have paid. He then resold the scrap metal at a profit. The conspiracy, which lasted from 1999 through March 2016, caused a loss of more than $9.5 million, but less than $25 million.
Cinelli was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
CIMCO, which was headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey, purchased scrap metal for resale and operated three scrap metal recycling facilities in New Jersey. The company's trucks would deliver scrap metal containers to customer jobsites and remove them after they were filled.
The investigation into CIMCO's activities was led by the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, and the FBI's Newark field office. The U.S. Attorney's Office Economic Crimes Unit in Newark represented the government in the case.
Cinelli's defense counsel was Ray Flood Esq. of Hackensack, New Jersey.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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