Defendant Pleaded Guilty to One Fraud Scheme, Fled to Mexico, Continued with a Second Fraud Scheme 

March 17, 2022 - SAN FRANCISCO – Joseph Albert Corey was sentenced in federal court today to 108 months for two separate fraud schemes causing more than $3.5 million in losses, announced United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair.  The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Edward M. Chen.

Corey, 57, and last known to live in or near Los Angeles, was initially charged in 2019 with depositing fraudulent checks into accounts opened under the false name “Dennis Dupont.”  Posing as Dennis Dupont, Corey opened bank accounts for two fake companies, “Medical Practice Management” and “Medtronic Inc.”  He funded those accounts by depositing unauthorized checks drawn on a bank account owned by a legitimate company, the government’s sentencing memo describes.  Corey wrote checks on the victim company’s account totaling more than $370,000.  When he successfully deposited a check, Corey laundered the proceeds by using the stolen money to purchase gold coins from a precious metals company.  He picked up the gold coin shipments from rented mailboxes in the Bay Area. 

Once arrested, Corey entered a guilty plea in November 2019 to a federal charge of mail fraud.  Corey, however, absconded from his February 2020 sentencing hearing.

While a fugitive, Corey continued to commit a second fraud scheme that involved a conspiracy to defraud financial lenders.  The conspiracy was underway as early as March 2019 and continued through October 2020.  Corey admitted in his current plea agreement that as part of the scheme he assumed the identities of multiple medical doctors.  Corey would impersonate a doctor to obtain a loan ostensibly to purchase an expensive medical device from a legitimate supply company.  Once the loan was authorized, Corey directed the lender to deposit the loaned purchase funds into a specific bank account.  Unbeknownst to the lender, Corey earlier had opened that account in the name of, or in a name similar to, the medical device supply company.  When the lender deposited the funds into the account, Corey appropriated the money.  Corey then assumed another set of false identities and used the funds to purchase gold from various precious metals dealers, thus obscuring the trail of the stolen loan money. 

Corey remained a fugitive until he was detained by Mexican authorities in January 2021 and deported from Mexico to the United States.  According to a government filing, when Corey was arrested in Mexico he possessed scores of false identifications, including one identifying him as a “special agent” of the CIA.

Corey admitted in his plea agreement that he defrauded more than 10 victims in this second scheme and caused losses of at least $3.5 million.

In addition to the 108-month prison sentence, United States District Judge Edward M. Chen ordered Corey to pay restitution.  The sentence also included a three-year period of supervision following Corey’s release from prison.  Corey was in custody at the sentencing hearing and begins serving his sentence immediately.

Mohit Gourisaria is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case, with the assistance of Maddi Wachs, Maribel Gallegos, and Kay Konopaske.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Source: DOJ Release