A Morris County man was accused Wednesday of participating a scheme that netted him and others over $3.4 million after they offered phony debt relief services to small businesses and pocketed the money, federal prosecutors said.
Mark Csantaveri, 51, of Morristown, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was detained after his Newark federal court appearance, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey.
Csantaveri and his unidentified conspirators allegedly ran businesses that asked clients to make regular payments to him while he was negotiating favorable settlements with the their creditors, the office said. Instead of using their money as promised, Csantaveri and others kept the money for themselves, federal officials alleged.
They used the money on personal items, including over $1 million in gambling expenses, investigators said.
The three businesses run by Csantaveri and the others were identified in a complaint as MCA Cure, LLC, LDMS Group, LLC, both of Parsippany, and Evergreen Settlement Group LLC, which was based out of Rockaway.
In one alleged case, a company that operated a restaurant in College Park, Maryland that had fallen into debt during the COVID-19 pandemic entered into a debt consolidation agreement with MCA Cure. Over the next two years, the restaurant paid Csantaveri $149,400 that he and one on his co-conspirators deposited into their own bank accounts and never used for its intended purpose, according to the complaint.
The scheme ultimately defrauded more than 50 victims, authorities said.
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, according to the release.
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.