Morris County man charged with multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud more than 50 small businesses by offering phony debt relief services
MORRISTOWN, NJ (Morris County) – A Morris County man was charged Wednesday in an alleged scheme that defrauded victims of over $3.4 million dollars, according to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger.
Mark Csantaveri, 51, of Morristown is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He made an initial appearance Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Edward S. Kiel in Newark federal court and was detained, Sellinger said.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Csantaveri and his conspirators, who were only identified as a resident of Morristown and a resident of Lake Hopatcong, operated businesses that purported to provide small businesses with debt relief services.
Csantaveri induced victims to make regular payments to one of Csantaveri’s businesses by falsely claiming that he would hold their money while negotiating favorable settlements with the victims’ creditors. Instead of using victim funds as promised, Csantaveri and his conspirators misappropriated the victims’ money for their personal use, including over $1 million in gambling expenses. Csantaveri’s scheme ultimately defrauded more than 50 victims of more than $3.4 million dollars.
Conspiracy to commit wire fraud is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss involved in the offense, whichever is greatest, Sellinger said.
