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August 28. 2012 10:53PM
Fraud conviction sends ex-Dover executive to year in federal prison
CONCORD — A former executive with Goss International in Dover has been sentenced to a year in federal prison and two years supervised release for defrauding several foreign customers through a shell company he created with a Boston banker, according to the U.S. District Attorney for New Hampshire.
Paul Wilson, 41, formerly of Dover, was the international trade finance manager for Goss, a manufacturer of commercial printing presses sold in the U.S. and abroad. From 2004 to 2008, he defrauded several Goss customers of approximately $148,000, according to U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas.
Wilson pleaded guilty on Jan. 30 to three counts of wire fraud after an investigation that began in June 2011. In his Aug. 23 sentencing order, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante ruled that Wilson could be subject to a two-level increase in his sentence because of his “trust relationship” with his victims.
“In the end, the court gave exactly the sentence that I requested,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark S. Zuckerman, who prosecuted the case, “and that was without consideration of the two-level increase.”
In his sentencing order, Laplante describes how Wilson colluded with James Bender, a senior vice president at Sovereign Bank in Boston, to create shell companies that billed Goss clients for work that was either not done, or performed by Wilson in the regular course of his duties with Goss.
Bender has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and is scheduled for trial Nov. 6 at U.S. District Court in Concord, according to Zuckerman. Wilson has since relocated to a Chicago suburb, Zuckerman said, but is expected to surrender in mid-October to a location yet to be determined by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
According to Laplante's order, Wilson and Bender incorporated two entities in the mid-2000s, Zephyr Capital and Zephyr Financial, which purportedly offered international sales advice and services. “On four separate occasions between 2006 and 2008, Wilson and Bender used their positions at Goss and Sovereign to bill Goss customers for work that Zephyr had not actually performed. Wilson used his position at Goss to lead these customers to believe that Goss had engaged Zephyr to perform this work.”
Invoices totaling tens of thousands of dollars in bogus charges were sent to Goss commercial customers in Mexico and Brazil, according the sentencing documents. The victim companies then wired payment to a bank account controlled by Wilson. After Wilson left Goss, one of the victim companies called his successor to inquire about a Zephyr invoice and the scheme unraveled.
Dave Solomon may be reached at dsolomon@unionleader.com.
Paul Wilson, 41, formerly of Dover, was the international trade finance manager for Goss, a manufacturer of commercial printing presses sold in the U.S. and abroad. From 2004 to 2008, he defrauded several Goss customers of approximately $148,000, according to U.S. Attorney John P. Kacavas.
Wilson pleaded guilty on Jan. 30 to three counts of wire fraud after an investigation that began in June 2011. In his Aug. 23 sentencing order, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph N. Laplante ruled that Wilson could be subject to a two-level increase in his sentence because of his “trust relationship” with his victims.
“In the end, the court gave exactly the sentence that I requested,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark S. Zuckerman, who prosecuted the case, “and that was without consideration of the two-level increase.”
In his sentencing order, Laplante describes how Wilson colluded with James Bender, a senior vice president at Sovereign Bank in Boston, to create shell companies that billed Goss clients for work that was either not done, or performed by Wilson in the regular course of his duties with Goss.
Bender has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and is scheduled for trial Nov. 6 at U.S. District Court in Concord, according to Zuckerman. Wilson has since relocated to a Chicago suburb, Zuckerman said, but is expected to surrender in mid-October to a location yet to be determined by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
According to Laplante's order, Wilson and Bender incorporated two entities in the mid-2000s, Zephyr Capital and Zephyr Financial, which purportedly offered international sales advice and services. “On four separate occasions between 2006 and 2008, Wilson and Bender used their positions at Goss and Sovereign to bill Goss customers for work that Zephyr had not actually performed. Wilson used his position at Goss to lead these customers to believe that Goss had engaged Zephyr to perform this work.”
Invoices totaling tens of thousands of dollars in bogus charges were sent to Goss commercial customers in Mexico and Brazil, according the sentencing documents. The victim companies then wired payment to a bank account controlled by Wilson. After Wilson left Goss, one of the victim companies called his successor to inquire about a Zephyr invoice and the scheme unraveled.
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Dave Solomon may be reached at dsolomon@unionleader.com.