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Rhode Island Man Sentenced for Auto Warranty Fraud
A 64-year-old man from North Providence, Rhode Island, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in a massive auto warranty fraud scheme that bilked a Pennsylvania-based warranty company out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Mattew Gershkoff, 64, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for conspiring to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft offenses. Gershkoff was also ordered to pay restitution of $385,352.19 to the victim of his crime.
According to Acting United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Gershkoff was convicted of preparing false invoices for nonexistent automobile repairs at multiple automobile repair shops located in Rhode Island and in Massachusetts, and for forging policy owners’ signatures. The invoices were sent to and paid by an automobile warranty company in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Gershkoff pleaded guilty on May 18, 2020, to causing between $250,000 and $550,000 of fraudulent loss to the Wilkes-Barre based automobile warranty company.
Gershkoff’s coconspirators, who were also convicted in the investigation, include Brian Larry, Herman Cabral, and Jason Pannone. Larry, 59, of Clark’s Summit, Pennsylvania, was convicted on May 10, 2021, following a jury trial, of mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and false statement offenses. Larry was convicted of defrauding his former employer, the Wilkes-Barre based automobile warranty company, from approximately January 2014 through October 2018.
Cabral, 62, of Cranston, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud, and was sentenced to 10 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Cabral was convicted of processing false invoices for nonexistent automobile repairs through his Providence, Rhode Island automobile detailing shop, A Plus Auto Services.
Pannone, 40, of North Providence, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud, and to aggravated identity theft, and was sentenced to 18 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release. Pannone was convicted of processing false invoices for nonexistent automobile repairs through his Providence, Rhode Island automobile detailing shop, Platinum Auto Services, and through Ultra Auto Services, where he was employed.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phillip J. Caraballo and Jeffrey St John prosecuted the case.
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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