NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser announced that DON MANUEL ZEMO, JR., age 55, a resident of River Ridge, Louisiana, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle to 15 months imprisonment and supervised release after any term of imprisonment of 2 years after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. ' 371, for his role in stealing over $1,000,000 from his employer, a privately owned and operated company that provided portside services as a terminal operator and stevedore at the Port of New Orleans. ZEMO was also ordered to pay restitution to the victim in the amount of at least $1,033,639.54, subject to increase for inclusion of additional costs and fees incurred by the defendant, to be determined by Dec. 11, 2018.
According to court documents, Company A hired ZEMO in 1999. Between 2003 and 2015, he served as the General Manager of Port Operations and earned in excess of $100,000 per year for his employment. As General Manager, ZEMO oversaw and managed Company A’s day-to-day operations at Company A’s terminal at the Port of New Orleans, including handling all financial documentation, personnel decisions, job scheduling, implementing of Company A’s policies at Company A’s Port of New Orleans terminal, and facilitating the billing of Company A’s customers.
In about August 2009, U.S. Gulf Trade, Inc. (“USGT") was formed. Although ZEMO was not explicitly affiliated with USGT, he was involved in its day-to-day operations. Between Jan. 29, 2012, and July 7, 2015, ZEMO and his co-conspirator, who was involved with the formation of USGT, diverted approximately $1,033,639.54 over the course of eighty (80) transactions from Company A to themselves and USGT. ZEMO did so by representing to Company A’s customers that USGT, and not Company A, had provided certain services and material to the customer when, in fact, Company A’s equipment, employees, and material was used to provide the services and directing customers to transmit payments to USGT, not Company A, for the services rendered and material provided, without Company A’s knowledge or authorization. Among the fraudulent transactions ZEMO caused was one on May 22, 2015, in which ZEMO caused a shipping company to send a check via U.S. Mail to USGT in the amount $49,498.49, when such funds should have been made payable to, and actually transmitted to, Company A.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg was in charge of the prosecution.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
