Former Principals of Vehicle Financing Company Sentenced for Fraud Charges |
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Topics: Inofin
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U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Massachusetts
20 October 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BOSTON – The founders and principals of Inofin Inc., a shuttered motor vehicle finance company based in Rockland, Mass., were sentenced today on fraud charges in connection with soliciting investments that resulted in losses of over $11 million to investors.
Michael J. Cuomo, 55, of Plymouth, and Kevin J. Mann Sr, 67, of Marshfield, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 48 months in prison and 42 months in prison, respectively, and three years of supervised release. In May 2017, they pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, and one count of wire fraud.
From 1994 through February 2011, Cuomo and Mann owned and operated Inofin, which funded loans to used car buyers who could not qualify for traditional financing. In order to fund Inofin’s operations, Cuomo and Mann raised capital by securing investments from dozens of individuals. They falsely represented that the investors could rollover money held in retirement plans to Inofin, and that Inofin, as an authorized custodian of retirement money, would invest and then return the principle with interest. In fact, at no point was Inofin an authorized custodian, or trustee, of retirement funds. As a result of these misrepresentations by Cuomo and Mann, Inofin investors suffered a loss of more than $10 million in retirement savings transferred to Inofin. Inofin ultimately entered into involuntary bankruptcy proceedings.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also provided assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vassili Thomadakis and Victor A. Wild of Weinreb’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.