ROCHESTER, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Dylan Paul Costanza, 30, Tommy Lee Coburn, 29, Kyle Paul Edward Gibson, 33, all of Florida, and Heather Dierna, 30, of Rochester, NY, with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Some of the defendants are also facing additional charges of mail fraud and conspiracy to engage in money laundering.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, who is handling the case, stated that according to the indictment, between October 2020, and January 2022, the defendants obtained the names and addresses of primarily large companies located throughout the United States, where they could mail what appeared to be a legitimate invoice for cleaner/degreaser products that the victim companies would believe they had previously ordered and received. Large companies were targeted because it was less likely during the COVID-19 pandemic that account payable departments in these companies would question whether cleaner/degreaser products listed on the fraudulent invoices were ordered and received. The defendants also targeted large companies because the relatively small amounts owed on the fraudulent invoices would be less likely to raise questions regarding the legitimacy of the invoices, and because the accounts payable departments do not order products for their companies, and would be less likely to question or be suspicious of the grossly inflated prices for the cleaner/degreaser products.
Fraudulent invoices were mailed from Florida in the names of Hi-Tech Industrial and Nationwide Chemical, both sham companies. Additional fraudulent invoices under the names North Atlantic Supply and Top Tier Chemicals, also sham companies, were mailed from Rochester. Intended to look like legitimate invoices, the defendants placed statements that the documents were merely “solicitations,” and that there was no obligation to pay the amounts listed on the fraudulent invoices, in hard-to-find places on page two of the invoice. The statements were inserted so that if the defendants were ever later questioned, they could falsely claim that the intended purpose of the documents was merely to “solicit” future business from the victim companies.
As a result of the conspiracy, approximately 4,640 victim companies were tricked into believing that they had received a legitimate invoice for cleaner/degreaser products, paying approximately $3,721,229.31 to the sham companies. After receiving payment, the defendants attempted to cover up their fraud by having inexpensive cleaner/degreaser products delivered to the victim companies. A total of 10 companies in the Western District of New York were victimized. The companies are located in Henrietta, Lakewood, Brockport, Andover, Rochester, Avon, Tonawanda, and Niagara Falls.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward, Boston Division, and the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas M. Fattorusso.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
