Fairport man sentenced in scheme to purchase and sell diamonds overseas
[MGN]
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — A Fairport man was sentenced to two years in federal prison Thursday for his role in a high-risk scheme to purchase and sell diamonds overseas.
Michael Bartusek, 52, was convicted on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and filing a false tax return.
Bartusek pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer of about $776,000 from the summer of 2015 through the end of 2016, which prosecutors say he used to invest in the scheme, hoping to personally profit from the sales and return the money to his employer before the fraud was discovered.
The scheme failed and the money was lost.
Prosecutors say Bartusek and two others also used false representations to solicit investments for a company called Integra Diamonds in an effort to recover investment funds, including the money defrauded from Bartusek’s employer.
Bartusek also filed false tax returns, underreporting his total income for tax year 2015 by approximately $123,000, and underreporting his total income for tax year 2016 by approximately $46,000.
Bartusek was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and to pay $973,922 in restitution.