Seymour Man Charged with Defrauding Wholesale Food Suppliers

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Brian C. Gallagher, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General, Northeastern Region, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned a 10-count indictment charging MICHAEL SALVAGGI, 61, of Seymour, with offenses related to his alleged defrauding wholesale food companies of hundreds of thousands dollars.

The indictment was returned on May 28, 2026.  Salvaggi has been detained since March 7, 2026, when he was arrested in St. John’s County, Florida, pursuant to related state charges in Pennsylvania.  He is scheduled to be arraigned in New Haven on June 18.

As alleged in court documents, Salvaggi, representing that he owned trucking and wholesale food businesses in various names, including “A.J. Produce LLC,” “Express Transportation,” “Salvaggi Brothers Trucking,” and “Express Fresh Produce & Dairy,” contacted wholesale food suppliers in Connecticut and elsewhere and arranged to purchase quantities of food on credit or payment on delivery or pickup.  After the suppliers provided him with food, he paid them with fraudulent checks.  Numerous wholesale food companies suffered total losses of hundreds of thousands of dollars are a result of this scheme.

The indictment charges Salvaggi with eight counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count, one count of mail fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of interstate transport of property taken by fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel J. Gentile.

Investigators are seeking to identify victims of this alleged fraud scheme.  Victims and individuals with information that may be helpful to the investigation are encouraged to complete and submit the form at this link.