A Florida accountant has been sentenced to 80 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and for corruptly endeavoring to obstruct the Rizzuti must also serve three years of supervised release and pay $298,000 in restitution to his victims. The Department of Justice said additional penalties will be assessed in the next 90 days. Indicted in November, Rizzuti allegedly stole approximately $265,000 from one client and about $23,500 from another. The money was intended for tax payments IRS. Rizzuti, owner of Beacon Accounting Services in Palm City, Fla., also lied to clients and the IRS to conceal the scheme.
The guilty plea to engaging in a criminal conspiracy to commit wire fraud stemmed from a plan by Rizzuti and co-conspirators for the alleged funding of Nigerian-related oil and Bahamian construction projects, However, Rizzuti and his co-conspirators stole about $3 million that they used to pay for personal expenses. The co-conspirators were not named in the Department of Justice press release regarding Rizzuti's sentencing.