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ERIE, Pa. (AP) — An Erie businessman has been sentenced to 4½ years in federal prison for a multimillion-dollar fraud that cheated customers of his copy machine business, including schools and churches.

U.S. District Judge Sean McLaughlin imposed the sentence against Frederick Zurn, 58, on Tuesday despite pleas from his family and a priest who characterized him as a committed family man and community member, the Erie Times-News (http://bit.ly/X06fEr) reported Wednesday..

"Fred can do a lot more good outside the prison than inside the prison," the Rev. Michael DeMartinis told the judge.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Trabold argued that churches were among the biggest victims of Zurn's Erie Copy Products which, the judge said, "functioned as a criminal enterprise rather than a legitimate business ... :"

Zurn had pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and willful failure to collect or pay over payroll taxes.

Trabold said customers of Zurn's Erie Copy Products paid for leases on copy machines they never received, or which were broken, older or less expensive than they had been told. The scheme cost customers and lenders $2.5 million to $7 million between July 2004 and May 2011. Zurn also failed to remit payroll taxes withheld from his employees for the last three years of the scheme.

Zurn must pay the IRS more than $278,000 and must pay restitution — in an amount still to be agreed upon by Trabold and Zurn's attorney — to more than two dozen victims.

Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic church in nearby Millcreek Township lost $23,000 in the scheme and other churches in Ohio and Pennsylvania contend they were "cheated" or put through a "financial nightmare" by Zurn's business, Trabold said.

Zurn "was leading a double life," Trabold said. "It's disingenuous to say you are a man of faith when you are ripping people off."



Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/ne...26.php#ixzz2DZGBMlxv
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quote:
Trabold said customers of Zurn's Erie Copy Products paid for leases on copy machines they never received, or which were broken, older or less expensive than they had been told.


Really "less expensive than they had been told" so when I buy a car for $27,000 and someone else is selling it for $24,000 that's a crime? There has got to be more to this that. That happens 4,000,000 times a day.
quote:
Originally posted by Yoda:
quote:
Trabold said customers of Zurn's Erie Copy Products paid for leases on copy machines they never received, or which were broken, older or less expensive than they had been told.


Really "less expensive than they had been told" so when I buy a car for $27,000 and someone else is selling it for $24,000 that's a crime? There has got to be more to this that. That happens 4,000,000 times a day.


Sounds like he was selling used machines but presenting them as being new & also claiming sale of goods that were not delivered. That probably also involved falsifying Acceptance of Delivery documents in order to receive funding from financing sources. I bet there are multiple charges that are part of several separate cases.
quote:
Originally posted by Art Post:
quote:
Zurn had pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and willful failure to collect or pay over payroll taxes


I think the above reason is why he was nailed. Fraud whether mail or wire is a serious offense, in this case the plead guilty!


I think you are right on with this. My guess is that his failure to remit payroll taxes is what triggered the investigation into his company.
There is a special place in hell for people who rip off churches.

Have a church in my home town that was ripped off for about $20K by a copier company that had already gone out of business. The vendor wrote the church a 63 month lease with the service packed into the lease payment 3 months after the sherif had put a lock and chain on their doors. To make matters worse when the pastor of the church signed the lease he accidently signed in the wrong spot. When we got our hands on the actual lease doc on file with the leasing company we found that the dealer had forged the lease rather than go back and get a new doc signed. I urged the church to get legal council and go to the authorities but they were either too proud or to embarrassed to do so. They only found out the dealer's deciet after the machine broke for the first time and they called for service only to find the number no longer in service.

As it turned out the guy had continued writing leases for months after his business no longer existed. Every one with the service built into the lease. He left quite a trail of destruction and did a lot of damage to our industry's reputation. I had the BA at one of the biggest school districts in my area tell me he will never deal with an independant copier dealer again after his experience with this thief.
"the government COULD drop it's restitution request" (last line in the article). Let's hope not. Acts of fraud with restitution should not go uncollected - now if we would just go after the Wall Streeters/Big Bankers like we did after the S&L Fraud cases in then 80's (Lincoln Savings etc.) I'd be happy.
It's interesting, I think I've found someone doing a similar scam here in NJ. Same MO for churches however it seems upgrades then early, promises to make payments on the old lease, but a few have had to hound him to get the money and he is removing the old systems and thoughts are he is renting them or releasing for a shorter term. The leasing company is wise to this however they have not been able to catch him yet. This is only what I heard, if true it's a shame this crap happens all over.

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