A New York man, Terrell Fuller, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud. Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced the sentencing in Newark, New Jersey.
Fuller, aged 34 and a resident of Baldwin, New York, had previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler. He was charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud.
Court documents and statements revealed that Fuller and his co-conspirators submitted a fraudulent application to the Small Business Administration (SBA), resulting in approximately $1,200,000 being provided by the SBA. Additionally, they opened bank accounts under various names to deposit illegally obtained or fraudulent checks and attempted to withdraw money from these accounts. Fuller also used stolen personal information to fraudulently rent properties in New York without paying over $400,000 in rent and fees. The conspiracy allowed Fuller and his associates to acquire more than $2,000,000 through their fraudulent activities.
Alongside the prison sentence, Judge Chesler ordered Fuller to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution amounting to $2,289,816.06.
The investigation involved special agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Franklin Township Resident Agency under Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly's direction and special agents from the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation led by Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan from the Cybercrime Unit in Newark represented the government.
Fuller's defense counsel was Scott Leemon from New York City.