Giovanni Masucci, also known as John Masucci, 46, of Woodbridge, pleaded guilty on Thursday in Bridgeport federal court to one count of wire fraud related to his theft of more than $1 million from a Connecticut company.
The guilty plea was announced by Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Masucci operated a financial consulting business in North Haven. As part of his business, he provided financial consulting services to a company located in Milford and had access to the company’s checkbooks and financial ledgers.
From approximately September 2011 to February 2014, Masucci defrauded the Milford company by diverting company funds to his own bank account.
He also wrote checks from the company’s bank account to pay his personal credit card bills and the credit card bills of a personal acquaintance.
As part of the scheme, Masucci created false entries in the corporate check ledger that falsely indicated the checks were written for legitimate business purposes, and he typically forged the signature of the authorized company representative on the checks. In order to conceal his crime, Masucci took the company’s check book.
The investigation revealed that Masucci used the stolen funds to pay for domestic and international travel, lodging, and to make purchases at several high-end retailers. Masucci is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer on February 12, 2015, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.
This matter is being investigated by the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, the United States Secret Service and the Greenwich Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Miller.