Florida Man Sentenced For Wire Fraud

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Hector Ortiz, 49, of Altamonte Springs, Florida, who was convicted of committing wire fraud as part of an international commodity deal, was sentenced to 41 months in by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci. The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $852,500.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley E. Tyler, who handled the case, stated that between August 2011 and November 2011, the defendant devised a scheme to defraud Sweeteners Plus, Inc. in Lakeville, NY. Specifically, Ortiz attempted to obtain $7,862,500 from Sweeteners Plus by making multiple false and fraudulent representations in relation to a contract to deliver 12,500 metric tons of refined sugar. The sugar was never delivered, and Ortiz took $852,500 as a commission.

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Postal Inspectors with the United States Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector In Charge Shelley Binkowski.