April 5, 2024 - SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On Thursday, a federal grand jury returned a 16-count superseding indictment against Richard Alan Abrusci, 45, of South Lake Tahoe, charging him with 12 counts of wire fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft, and three counts of monetary transactions with proceeds of specified unlawful activity, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to the initial indictment in the case, from 2016 through 2021, Abrusci embezzled approximately $1.4 million from a non-profit organization that operates a chain of retail stores in California and Nevada. He did so while occupying leadership positions at the non-profit.

The superseding indictment adds charges for two additional victim non-profits. According to the superseding indictment, during the summer of 2022, Abrusci became the president of the Sacramento chapter of a national non-profit organization that pairs children with adult mentors. From October 2022 to December 2022, Abrusci embezzled nearly $50,000 from this non-profit.

In the fall of 2022, Abrusci was the chairperson of the board of directors of a non-profit organization that acts as an umbrella organization for non-profits across California that connect community members with public services. From December 2022 to January 2023, Abrusci embezzled approximately $100,000 from this non-profit.

For each of the three victim non-profits, Abrusci embezzled funds in essentially the same manner. He caused the non-profits to pay Resolution Arrangement Services (RAS) for a variety of services that RAS purportedly performed. In fact, RAS provided none of these services. Instead, RAS consisted of nothing more than a fictious business name that Abrusci registered in 2008 and a bank account he opened the same year. The payments from the non-profit organizations to RAS went into this bank account, which Abrusci controlled.

This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas M. Fogg is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Abrusci faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the 12 counts of wire fraud. Additionally, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each of the three counts of monetary transactions with proceeds of specified unlawful activity. Finally, he faces a consecutive two years in prison for the count of aggravated identity theft. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Source: DOJ Release