Former Chairman of International Credit Union Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Wire Fraud

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Samuel J. Cusumano, 66, of Orlando, Florida, was sentenced late yesterday to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay $7.8 million in restitution for wire fraud in connection with his fraudulent solicitation from investors of the Swedish-registered Storehouse Credit Union.  The sentence was announced by Christopher P. Canova, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

During his guilty plea on June 24, 2015, Cusumano admitted that, between 2007 and 2009, as the chairman of the board of Storehouse, he promoted the international credit union as a high yield investment opportunity through intentionally misleading presentations and materials.  Cusumano fraudulently induced investors to transfer monies to investment accounts under Cusumano’s control by misrepresenting the rates of return being generated by the business.  He falsely claimed that Storehouse used professional currency traders when, in fact, Cusumano personally executed all trades from his home, investing primarily in the Foreign Currency Exchange Market.  Although the business was actually losing money, Cusumano created fraudulent financial statements to convince investors that Storehouse was reaching or exceeding the high rates of return that Cusumano had promised them.  When investors discovered that they were unable to withdraw their funds due to trading losses, a financial review was conducted.  The review revealed that investor funds had been depleted, that earnings had been overstated, and that Cusumano had used a large portion of the investors’ funds to pay personal expenses.  The 347 victims of the scheme resided in the United States, including in the Northern District of Florida, as well as Canada, Great Britain, and Australia.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory P. McMahon.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  The office strives to protect and serve the citizens of the Northern District of Florida through the ethical, vigorous, and impartial enforcement of the laws of the United States, to defend the national security, to improve the safety and quality of life in our communities through the protection of civil rights, and to protect the public funds and financial assets of the United States.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website.   For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

For more information, contact:
Amy Alexander, Public Information Officer
(850) 216-3854, amy.alexander@usdoj.gov