A Western New York business owner was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison for a financing scheme involving stolen customer identities.
Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Wolford also ordered $8,754,446.64 in restitution to 57 victims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
Eric Paredes, 54, was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors said his Rochester-based J&E Business Consulting LLC brokered credit card processing services for small retailers and collected customers’ identification and banking information.
From April 2019 through August 2023, he used customer information without consent to submit hundreds of false financing applications, prosecutors said.
The scheme used 63 identities, 23 lenders and 12 bank accounts, with purported purchases generating payments to accounts he controlled.
Prosecutors said he spent proceeds on personal expenses, salaries, business operations and lender payments intended to avoid detection.
Applications spanned Rochester and 11 states, causing at least $3.5 million in losses.
The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and state Department of Financial Services investigated.
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