Jose Garcia, a construction manager from New York, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for his involvement in two major fraud schemes. The crimes include a $4.5 million embezzlement and a $2.1 million tax evasion scheme. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton announced the sentencing, highlighting Garcia’s fraudulent activities that spanned several years.
Garcia was involved in an embezzlement scheme from 2010 to 2019 with co-defendant Mark Angarola, who was employed by an IT services company as a Global Account General Manager. Angarola orchestrated the submission of fraudulent invoices to enrich himself and others, including Garcia, who received over $4.5 million from the scheme without performing any work.
The fraudulent activities included arranging no-show jobs for friends and family members who lacked qualifications for IT positions. These individuals falsely reported work hours and expenses which were then reimbursed by the company under false pretenses.
In addition to embezzlement, Garcia committed tax evasion from 2011 through 2019, failing to file tax returns or pay income taxes on earnings from the fraud and other business ventures. This resulted in a tax loss of over $2 million to the IRS.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated: “Jose Garcia engaged in a lengthy embezzlement scheme that involved a no-show job, fraudulent billings, and largescale cash kickbacks… For these brazen crimes, Garcia has been sentenced to prison.”
Garcia used proceeds from his illegal activities to fund an extravagant lifestyle that included luxury travel and high-end purchases.
Alongside his prison sentence, Garcia was ordered to three years of supervised release and must forfeit $4,554,950 while paying restitution totaling $7,007,055.
The investigation was conducted by multiple agencies including the FBI’s New York Field Office and IRS-Criminal Investigation unit. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael D. Neff and Timothy V. Capozzi along with Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jorge Almonte.
