U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that CLARK JAMES PELLEGRIN, JR., age 40, of New Orleans, has been charged in a one-count Bill of Information with wire fraud.
PELLEGRIN is charged with engaging in a multi-year scheme involving creditors on whose behalf he collected overdue debts from debtors. The scheme charges that PELLEGRIN negotiated with debtors even though he had no authority to negotiate and made collections from debtors on behalf of twenty-three different creditors in the approximate amount of $243,980, which funds he converted to his own use, instead of paying the creditors.
If convicted, PELLEGRIN faces a possible maximum sentence of twenty years imprisonment on the single count.
U.S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrice Harris Sullivan is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
