The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado has announced charges against Edward Joseph Chmiel, 49, Henry Lozano, 43, and Sabino Loera, 51. The charges involve conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with a scheme involving fraudulent invoices submitted to a contractor for a Colorado electrical utility.
Loera and Lozano appeared in federal court on February 10. Chmiel is expected to make his initial appearance later this month. According to the criminal information, Chmiel and Loera were employed by a company providing electrical contracting services to a utility company in Colorado. Lozano owned a trucking and hauling service company. In August 2018, an agreement was made among the three individuals that Lozano’s company would provide services in exchange for kickback payments to Chmiel and Loera.
To facilitate these payments, false invoices were submitted from Lozano’s company to those of Chmiel and Loera. Once paid for these invoices, Lozano issued checks to 15 other individuals who cashed them and returned the cash to Chmiel and Loera. This operation reportedly generated approximately $1,495,781.51 in kickback proceeds between August 2018 and June 2020.
It is important to note that the charges are allegations at this stage. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
The investigation is being led by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation alongside the FBI Denver Field Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Sonia Dave and Bryan Fields are prosecuting the case.
Case Number: 25-cr-00024-RMR