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Ex-MD Businessman Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Bond Scheme
A Hampton Bays, New York man was sentenced to 63 months in prison for securities fraud and filing a false tax return. Wilfred T. Azar, III, 54, formerly of Queenstown, Maryland, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles Jr.
Azar must perform 100 hours of community service while on supervised release and pay restitution in the amount of $7,219,362 to the victim investors and $469,936 to the IRS. The sentence was announced by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Bruce M. Salad of the Tax Division; U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein of the District of Maryland; Special Agent in Charge Thomas Jankowski of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the FBI’s Baltimore Division.
In 1999, Azar became president and majority owner of Empire Corporation and exercised complete control over the operations of Empire. Empire Corporation owned Empire Towers Corporation. Empire Towers Corporation’s primary asset was Empire Towers, a 10-story office building in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
According to Azar’s plea agreement and court documents, by January 2006, Empire Corporation could no longer pay its expenses and was effectively insolvent. By 2007, Empire Towers Corporation had exhausted its lines of credit from lending institutions.
From January 2006 to April 2010, Azar caused Empire Corporation to sell bonds to 64 individual investors for more than $7 million. While many of the bonds were titled “registered,” the bonds were not registered with either the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or the state of Maryland.
Azar used the bond proceeds to purchase a $100,000 Aston Martin luxury automobile, to pay the $3,000 monthly mortgage on his primary residence, to pay $51,000 to an Azar trust, to purchase Baltimore Ravens season tickets for $17,298 and to pay $25,389 in country club dues. In addition, Azar charged over $420,000 to a credit card paid by Empire Management Services, including daily living expenses, lavish vacations and university tuition for one of his children.
Azar was sentenced on [no specific date provided] in Hampton Bays, New York, for securities fraud and filing a false tax return. He must pay restitution in the amount of $7,219,362 to the victim investors and $469,936 to the IRS. Azar was also ordered to perform 100 hours of community service while on supervised release.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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