Source: Office of United States Attorneys
NEWARK, N.J. – Yesterday, a complaint was unsealed charging an Arizona man for his role in a conspiracy to misappropriate government funds used to support low-income individuals with HIV, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced.
Brent Lee, 51, of Phoenix, Arizona, was charged by complaint with one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of theft of government funds. Lee appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah M. Fine in the District of Arizona.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In January 2023, a municipality in Hudson County, New Jersey, issued five checks totaling approximately $1M to a nonprofit charitable organization. The funds for four of the checks originated from a federal grant program that funds a comprehensive system of primary medical care, medications, and essential support for low-income people with HIV. Yet, as alleged in today’s complaint, the nonprofit organization never received the checks.
Instead, as alleged, in February and March 2023, Lee conspired with others to use a fraudulent business entity to misappropriate nearly all of the funds derived from the checks. In February 2023, Lee filed articles of incorporation in Wyoming for a business entity with a name nearly identical to the nonprofit’s, and opened a bank account for that entity. From February to March 2023, the checks were deposited into that account, and Lee paid himself, a family member, and various other individuals nearly all the proceeds via cash withdrawals, cashier’s checks, and wire transfers. As a result, the bank recorded a loss of approximately $1M.
The charge of bank fraud conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. The charge of theft of government funds carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.
Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents and members of the FBI’s Public Corruption and Civil Rights Unit in Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly, and the New Jersey Field Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz, with the investigation leading to the charges and arrest.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Hardin of the U.S. Attorney’s Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense Counsel: Jazmin Alagha, Esq.