State v. Mr. E (DMC No. 14732) – Felony Fraudulent Schemes ($180,000 in Reversed Credit Card Charges) and Felony Theft – Not Charged – Tolleson Police Department and FBI Investigated.
Mr. E owned a waste solutions company and he acted as a waste broker working primarily in the state of Arizona however, he did some work in California, Texas and Colorado. As a broker of trash services, he was in the front load commercial service and roll off container business. He also placed portable toilets, fencing and storage containers for many fencing projects.
As a broker, he developed a close working relationship with a large international waste disposal company that he used as his primary hauling company. During a course of normal business, he used the following process: he would call or email in his request to customer service and they would charge a Visa debit card they had on file. The type of service requested was based on pre-determined and negotiated prices. When he placed the order, the large waste disposal company would charge his card and send him a purchase confirmation sheet receipt so that he would know that they received his order for the requested work, and that they were paid for the haul to the jobsites. This process was in place for an average of 50 times a month. Occasionally, he would receive invoices and he would call to see if they were actually paid or if he had open balances, and he was always told that they were paid in full. Lastly, as to the portable toilet service, he was billed every 28 days and the customer service representative of the large waste disposal company would simply run his credit card again and send him a receipt after it was completed.
Ultimately, Mr. E received a threatening phone call from one of the managers at the large waste disposal company claiming Mr. E had reversed charges for an amount of $180,000 over the past several years. He strongly disputed this and he was told by the company that they had contacted the Tolleson Police Department, and T.P.D. was referring the matter over to the FBI. We then became involved and immediately contacted the waste disposal company’s Attorney in order to get detailed spreadsheets of all charges and reversed charges. The company could not show that Mr. E had any knowledge of charges being reversed. In addition, it was questionable why it took years for the waste disposal company to see that charges had been reversed. Ultimately, the case appeared to be one of sloppy accounting practices. Civil resolution was reached in which $80,000 of the $180,000 disputed amount was paid in order to settle the case. Ultimately, no charges were brought against Mr. E for Fraudulent Schemes or Theft. If they had, he would have been facing a mandatory prison sentence if convicted due to the amount in question being above $100,000.
