Granger Man Sentenced to 168 Months in Prison and Ordered to Pay $1,410,580.31 in Restitution

SOUTH BEND –James P. LeDonne, age 63, of Granger, Indiana, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after pleading guilty to mail and wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch. 

LeDonne was sentenced to 168 months in prison, followed by 1 year of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,410,580.31 in restitution to his victims.

According to documents in this case, from 2008 through 2014, LeDonne engaged in a fraud scheme involving a series of businesses that purported to manufacture fiber optic repair vehicles.  LeDonne persuaded customers to order vehicles and send money for down payments, but then failed to fulfill orders.  The scheme involved selling vehicles that LeDonne did not own or that did not exist, with LeDonne (and LeDonne’s employees at his direction) repeatedly lying to customers about the status of production schedules, delivery dates, and refunds.  To avoid returning money to customers and other creditors, his businesses would file bankruptcy and he would start a new business that would start up the same fraud scheme with new customers.  LeDonne defrauded at least 63 customers from at least 31 states and four foreign countries.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Indiana State Police Organized Crime and Corruption Unit and the FBI Financial Crimes Task Force, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary Bell and Luke Reilander.