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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday - July 19, 2005
NEVADA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO "ADVANCE FEE" FRAUD SCHEME
RALEIGH - Acting United States Attorney George E. B. Holding announced that GARY J. DE BELLONIA pled guilty in federal court in Wilmington, N. C., on Monday, July 18, 2005, to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. DE BELLONIA pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement with the United States.
A Superseding Indictment issued by the Grand Jury on July 14, 2005, charges DE BELLONIA and five other men--DANIEL WATLINGTON, WILLIAM A. MUWWAKKIL, RICKEY L. JESSIE, CLIFTON C. WEST, and THOMAS PATRICK McGLON--with "an extensive scheme to defraud individuals seeking business loans out of hundreds of thousands of dollars." The Superseding Indictment alleges that, as part of the scheme, individuals seeking business loans were "tricked into believing, among other things, that (1) the defendants were capable of helping them obtain business loans, typically loans in excess of one million dollars; and that (2) all or nearly all of the significant up-front fees paid by the individuals in anticipation of receiving such loans would be returned if no loan was obtained."
The Superseding Indictment also alleges that DE BELLONIA was a resident of Florida; that he purported to be in the business of helping individuals obtain loans to start or expand small businesses; and that he purported to work in this business through many different entities, including "Underwriting Consultants, Inc.," "Corporate Capital Group, Inc.," "Risk Analysis, Inc.," "Alchemie Limited," and "Financial Solution Resources, LLC."
DE BELLONIA, 60, has been in federal custody since his arrest at his residence in Henderson, Nevada, in January, 2005, on the original indictment in this case.
Senior U. S. District Judge James C. Fox conditionally accepted DE BELLONIA's guilty plea and scheduled sentencing for November 14, 2005.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Clay C. Wheeler is handling the prosecution.
