
On August 2, 2018, The U.S. Attorney For The Southern District Of New York Announced That Salvatore Armao Pled Guilty To Covering Up A Union Embezzlement Scheme By Filing False Reports With The Labor Department. “Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Michael C. Mikulka, Special Agent-in-Charge, New York Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (‘DOL-OIG’), and Thomas Licetti, Acting New York Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor-Employee Benefits Security Administration (‘DOL-EBSA’), announced that SALVATORE ARMAO, the founder and managing partner of an accounting firm (the ‘Firm’), pled guilty today to making false filings with DOL in order to conceal an embezzlement scheme in which more than $100,000 was embezzled from a labor union (the ‘Union’) and its employee welfare benefit plan (the ‘Plan’). ARMAO pled guilty before United States District Judge Vernon S. Broderick.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)
- Armao Was The Founder Of The Accounting Firm The Union Used. “During the period of the embezzlement, the Firm served as the accountant and auditor for the Union and the Plan.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)
Armao Facilitated The Embezzlement Scheme By Falsely Classifying The Union President’s Personal Expenses As “Loans.” “To facilitate and conceal the President-Trustee’s embezzlement, ARMAO falsely classified as ‘loans’ the personal expenses for which the President-Trustee paid using Union and Plan funds in accounting records and in DOL filings for the Union. In at least 2012, 2013, and 2014, ARMAO falsely classified the President-Trustee’s personal expenses as loans in DOL filings for the Union.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)
- U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman: “As A Professional Accountant And Certified Fraud Examiner, Salvatore Armao Was Supposed To Serve As A Check On Labor Fraud, Not A Facilitator Of It.” “U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: ‘As a professional accountant and certified fraud examiner, Salvatore Armao was supposed to serve as a check on labor fraud, not a facilitator of it. As he admitted today, Armao knowingly submitted false filings with the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service in order to facilitate and conceal a long-running embezzlement scheme involving a labor union.’” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)
The Union President Had Used Union Funds For Personal Expenses Like Spa Treatments And A Gym Membership. “From at least in or about 2010 through in or about 2014, the president of the Union, who also served as a trustee of the Plan (the ‘President-Trustee’), repeatedly used Union funds to pay for his personal expenses, including payments for spa treatments, a gym membership, a second car, medical expenses, dues for an actors’ union, personal credit card charges, and ATM cash withdrawals.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)
During A Three Year Period The Union’s President Had Embezzled Over $100,000. “The President-Trustee used his Union credit card to pay for personal expenses and then ‘reimbursed’ the Union with funds transferred from the Plan. In total, the President-Trustee embezzled more than $100,000 from the Union over approximately three years.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)
Armao Will Be Sentenced In November. “ARMAO’s sentencing is scheduled for November 8, 2018, at 2:30 p.m., before Judge Broderick.” (The United States Attorney’s Office For The Southern District Of New York, “Founder And Managing Partner Of Accounting Firm Pleads Guilty To Making False Filings With The U.S. Department Of Labor,” Press Release, 8/2/18)