Erie County Man Facing Fraud, Money Laundering Charges

ERIE, PA—A resident of Fairview, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Erie on charges of mail fraud and money laundering, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The 37-count indictment named Shawn W. Vaught, 36, as the sole defendant.

According to the indictment presented to the court, Vaught utilized the company names: Infinite Power & Design, LLC, Infinite Power & Energy, LLC, and Performance Engineering, located at 8000A Middle Road, Fairview, Pennsylvania, which he claimed to be involved, among other things, in the sale, refurbishment and design of commercial power generator engine sets and associated equipment. According to the indictment, Vaught obtained more than $1,100,000 from three different victims from 2006 through 2010 for generators that were never delivered. According to the indictment, Vaught made materially false, fraudulent, and misleading representations to the victims to induce them to enter into agreements to purchase generators, fabricated documents and made materially false and misleading representations concerning the availability and current status of the generators, and made excuses to the victims concerning why the generators had not been delivered. According to the indictment, Vaught issued and caused to be issued various interstate wire communications in furtherance of the scheme, and he transferred the funds from his business accounts, among other things, to pay off various liabilities related to a bankruptcy proceeding in Missouri, to pay his outstanding tax liabilities, and for other personal and business expenditures.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 640 years in prison, a fine of $9,250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and the Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.