Ohio Man Admits Defrauding Essex County, New Jersey, Company Out Of More Than $950,000

NEWARK, N.J. – A Milford, Ohio, man today admitted using an Essex County, New Jersey, medical company’s credit card without the company’s permission or consent to fraudulently obtain more than $950,000, U.S. Attorney Paul J Fishman announced.

John Tekulve, 44, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark federal court to an information charging him with wire fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From January 2011 through October 2012, Tekulve owned a medical supply company that sold products to an Essex County medical company. He obtained the company’s credit card information, which he used to fraudulently bill the company nearly $1 million for products and services that neither Tekulve nor his medical supply company provided. Tekulve then used the proceeds of the scheme for his own purposes, including the purchase of high-end automobiles and jewelry.

The count of wire fraud is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents with the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Mark McKevitt in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Allende of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Trenton.

Defense counsel: Peter Carter Esq., Newark