Buffalo Man Sentenced on Fraud Charges

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Dwayne Ferguson, 33, of Buffalo, New York, who was convicted of wire fraud, was sentenced to four years in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny. The defendant was also ordered to pay $630,000 in restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who handled the case, stated that the defendant is the former owner and operator of Intihar Recovery of New York, an automobile rental, repossession, storage, and towing services business. Ferguson fraudulently obtained money from Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation, Toyota Financial Services, BMW Financial Services, GMAC Financial Services, and Ford Motor Credit to finance the purchase of motor vehicles for his business. The defendant submitted false and misleading documentation to those lending institutions indicating that his business was credit worthy when, in fact, the business had very few assets and had significant liabilities. The total loss to all the victim businesses was $1,110,937.

The sentence imposed by Judge Skretny will be served following the three-and-a-half- to seven-year New York State sentence Ferguson is currently serving following his conviction on charges of possession of a forged instrument and attempted grand larceny.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda; the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, under the direction of Director Owen McShane; the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Commissioner Thomas Mattox; the New York State Department of Financial Services, Criminal Investigations Division, under the direction of Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky; and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Piehota.