January 19, 2024 at 04:25PM
Five individuals have been accused of a scheme involving over $7 million in fraudulent work expense claims submitted to an IT consultancy. The alleged embezzlement scheme comprised of no-show jobs, false timesheets, and disguising personal expenses as business expenses. They now face charges of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, tax evasion, and failing to report true income. These alleged expenses were used for slap-up meals, hotel stays, a cruise, visits to “gentlemen’s clubs,” and transportation fees. Mark Angarola, Allison Angarola, Jose Garcia, Michelle Cox, and Lisa Mincak were involved in the scheme, which is said to have started in 2010 and continued till 2019. Mark Angarola, the global account general manager at the IT consultancy, allegedly arranged for the subcontractor to hire people lacking apparent qualifications for IT work, including his wife, friends, and assistant. It is alleged that Mark Angarola approved phony invoices and business expenses, which the IT consultancy paid out, amounting to over $7 million. The expenses ultimately funded personal activities, including rides to parties, cigar bars, restaurants, and strip bars. The accused individuals also allegedly committed tax fraud by concealing their income from the IRS for several years. Mark Angarola’s name also appeared in a similar 2019 civil lawsuit filed by DXC Technology against a company called Atlas Communications Technology, with allegations of millions in fraudulent invoices.
The meeting notes outline the details of a fraudulent scheme involving five individuals accused of submitting over $7 million in fake work expense claims to an IT consultancy. The accused individuals, namely Mark Angarola, Allison Angarola, Jose Garcia, Michelle Cox, and Lisa Mincak, have been arrested and charged with wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, as well as tax evasion and failure to report their true income to the IRS. According to the notes, the scheme involved creating no-show jobs, falsifying timesheets, submitting fraudulent billings, and disguising personal expenses as business expenses.
The alleged embezzlement scheme began in May 2010 and continued through February 2019, with Mark Angarola, who was a global account general manager at the IT consultancy, playing a central role. The notes indicate that the accused individuals, despite lacking relevant qualifications, were hired by a subcontractor of the consultancy at the direction of Mark Angarola, who subsequently approved phony invoices and business expenses submitted by his co-conspirators. These expenses were then purportedly paid out by the unnamed IT consultancy, funding personal expenses such as lavish meals, hotel stays, a cruise, visits to strip clubs, and transportation fees.
The wire-fraud charges specify the amounts allegedly pocketed by each of the accused individuals, with Mark Angarola purportedly receiving $1.5 million, Allison Angarola $751,641, Garcia and the entities he controlled $4.7 million, Cox $335,500, and Mincak $88,793. Additionally, three of the accused individuals are accused of committing related tax fraud by concealing this income from the IRS for several years.
Furthermore, the notes reference a civil lawsuit filed by IT giant DXC Technology against a company named Atlas Communications Technology, based in New Jersey, in which Mark Angarola’s name also appears. This lawsuit alleges that Mark Angarola, who has a LinkedIn profile stating he worked for DXC as an account manager, signed off on millions in fraudulent invoices for Atlas and instructed them to employ members of his family.
These are the key takeaways from the meeting notes.