PHILADELPHIA - Kenneth Kapikian, 57, of Wayne, Pennsylvania, and Dennis Gagliardi, 60, of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, were charged today by Information with a scheme to defraud the University of Pennsylvania. The defendants are each charged with seven counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
According to the Information, the defendants, engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain monies from the University of Pennsylvania by falsely billing the University for services the defendants never provided to the Sheraton University City Hotel. The Information further alleges the defendants directed vendors of the Sheraton University City Hotel to inflate their invoices submitted to the hotel and then pay them the fraudulently inflated amounts as kickbacks.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 160 years in prison, a three-year period of supervised release, a fine of up to $500,000, and an $800 special assessment.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Melanie Babb Wilmoth.
An Information is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
