UPDATED: RI Man Charged With Defrauding Local Businesses of $830K in Seafood -- Lobster, Sea Bass
GoLocalProv News Team
UPDATED: RI Man Charged With Defrauding Local Businesses of $830K in Seafood -- Lobster, Sea Bass
According to the U.S. Attorney, he allegedly eluded arrest nine days ago by "ramming federal law enforcement vehicles, nearly running down an FBI agent and task force officer in the process."
About Investigation
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIt is alleged in court documents that Paul Diogenes, a/k/a Paul Dejullio, 49, created a fictitious catering company, listing his alias as president, in order to obtain credit from food distributors to purchase more than $831,769 in product, including hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of lobster, sea bass, shrimp, scallops, filet, rib-eye steak, and wild boar.
Diogenes is also alleged to have used stolen identities and banking information from several well-known businesses and restaurants to obtain funds to pay for some of these products.
According to the U.S. Court Attorney, documents allege that Diogenes then resold much of the fraudulently obtained food products, in some instances to the same businesses whose banking information he allegedly used to pay food suppliers.
On August 3, FBI agents task force officers, and Rhode Island State Police surveilled Diogenes and followed him as he drove into a parking lot behind an East Providence business.
As agents and officers attempted to arrest him, Diogenes allegedly placed his car in reverse and rammed it into an FBI task force vehicle, with a task force officer and State Police trooper still inside. Diogenes then drove the vehicle forward towards an FBI agent who had to quickly jump out of the way to avoid being hit.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Diogenes proceeded to ram his car into a delivery van parked nearby, before driving toward a second FBI vehicle, narrowly missing a Providence Police officer assigned to the task force who had just exited the vehicle moments before. Using a gap he had created by ramming the law enforcement vehicles, Diogenes proceeded to drive off and elude arrest.
Diogenes, who was believed to be carrying more than $100,000, remained a fugitive for nine days, allegedly moving from one hotel to the next using various false names. He was apprehended at a hotel in Middleborough, MA.
Court Appearance
Diogenes appeared Monday before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan on criminal complaints charging him with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and felony assault of a federal officer.
Diogenes’s alleged fraud was investigated by the FBI’s Rhode Island Complex Financial Crimes Task Force, with the assistance of Rhode Island State Police and the Providence, Woonsocket, East Providence, Bourne, and Fall River Police Departments. The search for Diogenes after eluding arresting agents and officers was conducted by the FBI and the Rhode Island and Massachusetts U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Forces.
A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney Lee H. Vilker.