NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — The United States Attorney’s office in New Orleans announced on Thursday a guilty plea in a multi-million dollar crime that targeted a popular Uptown business.
According to federal prosecutors, Michael Sapera used bank fraud, identity fraud, and wire fraud to embezzle $2.8 million from Perlis Clothing. Court documents say Sapera worked as the Chief Financial Officer for the business and took the money over a period of 19 years.
The documents detail the check scheme Sapera used to take the money. The documents say Sapera would forge signatures on stolen business checks and deposit them into his personal account.
According to a news release from United States Attorney Kenneth Polite, Sapera pleaded guilty on Thursday. The release listed the $2.8 million dollar number as the total loss for restitution purposes.
U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon will sentence Sapera on May 28, 2015.