Joseph Rodriguez, Wire Fraud, New Jersey 2023

NEWARK, N.J. - In a brazen scheme to defraud a New Jersey company of millions of dollars, California man Joseph Rodriguez has been indicted on three counts of wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

Rodriguez, 70, of Irvine, California, is charged with wire fraud, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or loss to the victim, whichever is greatest.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, in January 2015, Rodriguez's company, Old American Incorporated, entered into a factoring agreement with a New Jersey company (identified in the indictment as “Victim-1”) to obtain loans secured or collateralized by accounts receivable.

Between February 2023 and July 2023, Rodriguez submitted to Victim-1 fraudulent invoices for future accounts receivable that he represented were owed to Old American. However, the customers listed in the invoices did not owe any money to Old American for outstanding invoices, and there were no accounts payable to turn over.

As a result, Victim-1 made millions of dollars in advance payments to Rodriguez, which he did not return. The exact amount of the losses incurred by Victim-1 is not specified in the indictment.

Rodriguez was arrested yesterday and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge in Santa Ana, California federal court. He is currently presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Farhana C. Melo and Benjamin D. Bleiberg of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/pr/california-man-indicted-scheme-defraud-new-jersey-company-millions-dollars