Former Florida Resident Sentenced On Fraud Charges

Boston – A former Florida resident who defrauded victims across the country, including in Massachusetts, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Boston yesterday for his role in an advance-fee scheme.

John Condo, 62 of formerly of Clearwater, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 90 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In March 2014, following his extradition from Italy, Condo pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 14 counts of wire fraud.

Between 2007 and 2011, Condo participated in a conspiracy to defraud developers who were seeking financing for large-scale alternative energy and commercial projects by pretending to be a representative of a multi-billion dollar fund located in Luxembourg. Condo and his co-conspirators convinced developers to give deposits in amounts between $300,000 and $1 million to this fake fund with the promise that the deposit would be fully refundable. Condo and his co-conspirators spent the developers' deposit money, and the fake fund never financed any projects. In perpetrating this scheme, the defendant continually reassured developers about safety of their deposits even as the deposits were being spent.

Over $7 million was stolen from victims, including $600,000 which had originally been provided by the West Springfield financial adviser Sean Mansfield. Mansfield had stolen the funds from his clients. In 2011, Mansfield was sentenced to 60 months in prison for defrauding his clients.

Condo’s co-defendants, Evripides Georgiadis, Frank Barecich, and Michael Zanetti, have all been convicted. In June 2014, Zanetti was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Earlier this month, Barecich was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Georgiadis is awaiting sentencing.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Susan Hensley, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration; and Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement. The case was prosecuted by Alex J. Grant and Karen L. Goodwin of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Unit.