Michigan Based Wire Fraud Conspiracy and Tax Offenses Charged

A federal grand jury in Detroit, Michigan, returned an indictment today charging Michigan businessmen John Angelo from Royal Oak, Cory Justin Mann from West Bloomfield, Michael Daneshvar from Bingham Farms, Glenn Franklin from Harrison Township, and Brent Sitto, from Bloomfield Township with one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and further charging John Angelo and bookkeeper Rosina Angelo, also known as Rosina Caruvana, from Mountainside, New Jersey, with one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS. John Angelo and Rosina Angelo were also each charged with three counts of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return and Cory Mann was charged with two additional counts of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement. 

According to the indictment, from at least January 2014 through October 2019, John Angelo, Mann, Daneshvar, Franklin, and Sitto, along with others, conspired to fraudulently use a Detroit Police Department (DPD) password to unlawfully obtain State of Michigan Traffic Crash Reports from a third-party private vendor, when many of the reports were not then publicly available and bore the watermark “Unapproved Report.” They allegedly used these  reports to solicit crash victims and direct them to the personal injury law firm operated by Franklin and Sitto, a chiropractic business operated by Daneshvar, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) businesses owned and operated by Angelo, Mann, and other conspirators. The indictment further alleges that from approximately August 2014 through February 2017, Franklin and Sitto delivered weekly payments to John Angelo for providing access to the fraudulently obtained crash  reports and managing the solicitation of automobile crash victims.

From at least September 2010 through November 2016, John Angelo and Rosina Angelo also allegedly conspired to defraud the IRS’s efforts to assess taxes and to collect approximately $1.3 million in  taxes and penalties due from John Angelo, by directing fees earned by John Angelo to a nominee entity. The indictment further alleges that John Angelo and Rosina Angelo assisted in the preparation of John Angelo’s false 2015, 2016, and 2018 individual income tax returns. Finally, the indictment alleges Mann assisted in the preparation of his own false 2018 individual tax return and a false 2018 entity tax return.  

If convicted, the conspirators face a maximum sentence of twenty years for the conspiracy to commit wire fraud count. John Angelo and Rosina Angelo face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the IRS. John Angelo, Rosina Angelo, and Mann face a maximum sentence of three years in prison for each count of aiding or assisting in the preparation of a false return. Each defendant also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorneys Mark McDonald, Eric Schmale, and Christopher O’Donnell of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting the case.

Additional information about the Tax Division and its enforcement efforts may be found on the Division’s website.