NEWARK, N.J. - The father and son operators of Clevett Worldwide Mailers LLC, a Succasunna, N.J., bulk mailing house, today admitted to defrauding clients of more than $1 million through a fraudulent bulk-mailing scheme in which they shredded millions of pieces of mail rather than delivering them, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.
Harold Clevett, 68, of Middlesex, N.J., and Mark Clevett, 37, of Randolph, N.J., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud charged in an indictment against them.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Mark Clevett owned, and both Clevetts operated, Clevett Worldwide Mailers, which contracted with international and domestic customers to handle large mailings. Customers sent their mail jobs to Clevett Worldwide Mailers for sorting, addressing and delivery to the post office. The company received fees from their customers for each piece of mail and for the total weight of the mail that it handled.
During their guilty plea proceedings, both father and son admitted that rather than sending their clients’ mail as contracted, they directed their employees to throw away all or part of it, and even called in a shredding company to destroy unsent mail.
Mark and Harold Clevett also acknowledged they charged their customers for the full amount of the mailings, even sending some of their customers fraudulent postal forms to make it appear as though the mailings were delivered. The pair admitted that between 2007 and June 2011, they discarded and shredded nearly 3 million pieces of customer mail and reaped nearly $1 million in illicit profits.
The wire fraud conspiracy charge to which the Clevetts pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the offense. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for Dec. 18, 2013.
U.S. Attorney Fishman credited postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Maria L. Kelokates, with the investigation leading to today’s pleas.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rahul Agarwal and Michael Robertson of the U.S Attorney’s Office in Newark.
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Defense counsel:
Harold Clevett: Brian J. Neary Esq., Hackensack, N.J.
Mark Clevett: Don Larsen Esq., Montville, N.J.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
