FBI: Queens man arrested for defrauding former employer of $4.4 million with fake account scheme

Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the arrest of BHASCARRAY. BAROT for participating in a multi-year scheme to defraud his former employer of approximately $4.4 million. BAROT was arrested this morning in Queens, New York on a criminal charge and is being brought before a Justice of the Peace for the Southern District of New York.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “For years, Baro is alleged to have created fraudulent invoices and processed them for payment at a Manhattan company where he worked as a purchasing manager. Baro designed the invoices to closely resemble the invoices the company received from real suppliers and others who owed the company money. But the fake invoices were fundamentally different: they sent the payment into Baro’s pocket. Today’s arrest demonstrates that this Office will seek justice for companies that have been victims of corporate theft.”
FBI Assistant Director Michael J. Driscoll said: “Today’s allegations allege that Baro defrauded his employer for many years of millions of dollars with fraudulent invoices. Such duplicitous schemes cause undue harm to the financial community as a whole. The FBI will continue to investigate complex financial crimes and bring perpetrators to justice through the criminal justice system.”
According to the allegations contained in the complaint, which was opened today in federal court in Manhattan:
From at least July 2018 or up to and including August 2022, BAROT was involved in a scheme to defraud his former employer (the “Company”) of approximately $4.4 million using fake invoices that mimic invoices received from legitimate suppliers of the company . BAROT used his position as a Purchasing Manager with the Company to process fraudulent invoices. In doing so, he often attached fake invoices to e-mail messages he sent in some cases on behalf of employees of the Company’s real suppliers to make it appear that the real sellers were demanding payment on fake invoices.
However, the fake invoices indicated that payment was to be made to organizations with names that often differed slightly from those of the actual supplier companies. BAROT then set up companies and opened bank accounts in the names of some of the persons listed for payment on counterfeit invoices so that he could receive the payments that the Company made on counterfeit invoices.
BAROT repeated this fraudulent tactic with more than a dozen fictitious individuals and forced the Company to pay approximately 40 fake invoices totaling approximately $4.4 million.
BAROT, 32, of Queens, New York, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of identity theft aggravated circumstances, which carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of two years’ imprisonment. .
The maximum possible penalties in this case are set by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence for the defendant will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.
This case is handled by the Department’s General Crimes Unit. The prosecution is led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Coyle.
The allegations contained in the complaint are simply allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
As follows from the introductory phrase, the entire text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth in this document are only statements, and each fact described should be considered as a statement.

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