Source: United States Department of Justice News
Concealed the Use of Subcontractors and Submitted Fraudulent and Inflated Invoices Resulting in Overpayment of More Than $940,000
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Joseph Liberto, age 47, of New Windsor, Maryland, to 18 months in federal prison, followed by 12 months of home detention, and three years of supervised release, for a wire fraud conspiracy in connection with his company’s contract to perform repairs at U.S. Postal Service (USPS) facilities. Judge Bennett also ordered Liberto to pay restitution of $941,629.17 and to pay a fine of $100,000. Judge Bennett further ordered that $100,000 in restitution and the $100,000 fine must be paid by the time Liberto reports to prison on September 10, 2022. The sentence was imposed on June 10, 2022.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Kenneth Cleevely of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
According to his plea agreement, between 2013 and 2018, Joseph Liberto, who was President and 50% co-owner of Sierra Construction LLC, in Frederick, Maryland, contracted with EMCOR-CSC to provide repair services to USPS facilities. EMCOR acted as the clearing house responsible for receiving service calls for needed maintenance and repair work on its customers’ facilities, including the USPS, and assigning such work to service providers, such as Liberto and Sierra. Liberto admitted that he engaged in a scheme to defraud EMCOR and the USPS by fraudulently concealing Sierra’s use of subcontractors to carry out maintenance work it was assigned to perform, inflating the number of hours and cost of repairs, and providing false documents to EMCOR, in order to overcharge the USPS. Sierra obtained more than $940,000 through these fraudulent overbillings.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the Contract Fraud Investigation Division of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General for its work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jefferson M. Gray and Matthew Phelps, who prosecuted the case.
For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md or https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
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