Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today that a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, charged Michael J. Simone of Willoughby, Ohio, with two counts of Mail Fraud.

The indictment charges that between April and July 2007, Michael J. Simone devised a scheme to defraud American Express by fraudulently obtaining a business credit card in the name of his company, Avion Productions, by providing American Express with false and fraudulent financial information regarding Avion Productions. It was further alleged that Simone used the fraudulently acquired card to purchase merchandise and services amounting to over $1.5 million, for which charges Simone never intended to pay.

As a further part of the fraud, Simone used the United States mails to send American Express checks for payment on the American Express account, which checks were drawn on closed accounts. It was alleged that between May and July of this year, Simone sent 15 such checks in amounts varying between $92,394.39 and $450,000.00 to American Express.

The actual sentence in this case, upon conviction, will be determined by the Court under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines which depend upon a number of factors unique to each case, including the defendant's prior criminal record, if any, the defendant's role in the offense and the unique characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James C. Lynch, following an investigation by the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Cleveland, Ohio.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.