Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Charge

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Nicholas Mussolini, 27, of Williamsville, New York, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of wire fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge carries a maximum penalty of a term of 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release of three years, and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maura K. O'Donnell, who handled the case, stated that the defendant pleaded guilty to running fraudulent loan schemes, which resulted in more than $1 million in financial losses to six victim companies. The schemes involved the defendant’s company, Preston Waters Corporation, which purported to be in the business of obtaining large loans for other companies. The defendant represented to victim companies that a deposit was required in order to secure loans on their behalf. As part of this scheme, a certain victim company remitted over $400,000 to the defendant as a deposit for a loan of approximately $11 million. The defendant did not use this money to obtain a loan for the victim company but instead used the funds for personal and other expenses and to repay other victims of his fraud scheme. Other victim companies included film and production companies seeking financing for the production of films, festivals, and other business ventures.

The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Brian P. Boetig.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 7, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. in Buffalo, New York, in front of U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Arcara.