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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact ELIZABETH MORSE
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4885
Baltimore, Maryland – On July 11, 2017, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Eric Myles Gordon, age 49, of Baltimore County, Maryland, to 36 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. Gordon was also ordered to pay restitution of $545,875. On April 7, 2017, a jury convicted Gordon of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and falsification of records in bankruptcy.
The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Special Agent in Charge Gordon Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and U.S. Trustee Judy Robbins and the Baltimore office of the United States Trustee Program.
According to evidence presented at the three-week trial in April 2017, Gordon opened two businesses in 2009, the Gordon Institute for Sports Performance and the Gordon Institute for Human Performance. By May of 2012, Gordon filed a petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 for GISP, and on August 9, 2012, filed a joint petition in bankruptcy under Chapter 7 on behalf of himself and his wife. The petition sought the discharge of over $2 million in both secured and unsecured debt.
In this same time frame, Gordon and co-conspirator, Saleh Stevens, discussed a way for Gordon to get funds that were “tainted,” would not “pass the smell test,” and had to be “kept off the government’s radar.” These funds were stolen by Stevens from his employer, Hanover Insurance.
In total, $545,875 was funneled through Gordon’s business bank account, with Gordon realizing approximately $36,000 as his fee for laundering the funds for Stevens. Ultimately, over $500,000 of these funds were provided to an individual who ran a NASCAR racing team.
In connection with the Chapter 7 petitions in bankruptcy, Gordon was required to produce bank records, which showed the deposits in September of 2012 totaling $545,875. In an effort to falsely explain the movement of funds, Gordon provided a pdf file styled as a “bridge loan” agreement, along with an explanation for the deposit of $545,875 and nearly immediate dissipation of funds in the account. This document purported to be executed on September 13, 2012, but was signed by Gordon as the borrower on September 10, 2012; the document was not signed by the lender. The bridge loan agreement was drafted after the fact by Stevens as part of the false story crafted by Gordon to explain the movement of funds through his bank account.
Stevens pled guilty in August 2014 to mail fraud and is awaiting sentence.
Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI, and the United States Trustee’s Baltimore Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Judson T. Mihok and P. Michael Cunningham, who prosecuted the case.