NEW ORLEANS U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced thatMICHAEL J. GOLL, age 47, of Kentwood, was sentenced on Nov. 2, 2022, to three years in prison on charges of wire fraud and filing false federal tax returns by U.S. District Judge Wendy B. Vitter.
According to court documents,GOLLwas the New Orleans branch manager of Company A, which provides material handling equipment to businesses. From January 2013 through September 2017,GOLLdefrauded Company A of approximately $549,667.39.GOLLis alleged to have executed the scheme by sending Company A false invoices from shell companies that he had created, when in fact the work was either done by Company As own employees or the work was not done at all. Also, as part of the scheme,GOLLhad a contractor who did personal work forGOLLinflate his bills to Company A to cover the work done forGOLL.GOLLjustified the overbilling by telling the contractor that he planned on buying Company A in the future, althoughGOLLnever did purchase Company A, andGOLLnever told his employer about the overbilling.
Additionally,GOLLpleaded guilty to filing false federal tax returns. According to court documents,GOLLfiled false personal income tax returns for tax years 2014 through 2017 in which he which he failed to accurately report his income, including the money that he embezzled from Company A. Moreover,GOLLalso counseled three other people, all of whom personally knewGOLL, to file false tax returns.GOLLtold each of them that he had graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Orleans with a Ph.D. in business administration, a degree that the University of New Orleans does not actually offer.GOLLpersuaded the victims to become his business partners in a fake restaurant enterprise.GOLLthen instructed them to file tax returns claiming false business losses, and thenGOLLhad them each pay to him a portion of their tax refund. Through his own false tax returns and those of the three others that he aided,GOLLcaused a tax loss to the United States of $188,694.00.
As to the charge of wire fraud,GOLLwas sentenced to three years in prison and three years of supervised release. For filing false tax returns,GOLLwas sentenced to three years in prison and one year of supervised release, to be served concurrently with the wire fraud charge. Additionally,GOLLwas ordered to pay $200 in mandatory special assessment fees. No fine was issued. A hearing regarding restitution will be held on a later date.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the U.S. Secret Service and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, which investigated this case jointly. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew R. Payne is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Secret Service