Norfolk Man Sentenced to Prison for Mail and Wire Fraud

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Nader Elnegery, 41, of Norfolk, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for mail and wire fraud charges based on a scheme to defraud Canon, U.S.A. (Canon) and other companies of professional cameras and lenses. Elnegery was also ordered to pay $54,639 in restitution to the victims of his offense and to forfeit $38,000 recovered from his home.

Elnegery pleaded guilty on Jan. 13, just minutes before his trial was to begin. According to court documents, Elnegery admitted to falsely certifying his eligibility for membership in a program offered by Canon to professional photographers and filmmakers.  Specifically, in 2013 and 2014, Elnegery applied for memberships in his own name and in the names of five aliases, falsely claiming to own several items of professional camera equipment that he had rented from a second company, ATS Rentals.  Ownership of such equipment is the primary condition of membership in the Canon program.  Elnegery then used the Canon memberships to obtain evaluation loans of high-end, professional cameras and lenses from Canon.  Elnegery failed to return these items, as well as several items he had rented from ATS Rentals, resulting in significant losses to both companies.  In March and April 2014, Elnegery sold the majority of these items in eBay auctions, collecting the proceeds from these sales through a PayPal account.  Elnegery transferred the majority of the money he earned from these sales to his own checking account.  The items not sold were recovered from Elnegery’s home. 

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Maria Kelokates, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Washington Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Mark S. Davis.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin C. Gratton and Brian J. Samuels prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:14-cr-48.