John H, Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Steven Stuller, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, announced that MARCEL VAN WOLVELAERD, 63, of Guilford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to six months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for submitting false documents to the U.S. Postal Service.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Van Wolvelaerd owns and operates CableComm, LLC. From approximately 2007 through 2014, the U.S. Postal Service (“USPS") contracted with CableComm to perform repair and maintenance work at various USPS facilities. In 2017, Van Wolvelaerd sought payment on certain repair and maintenance work done in Connecticut. Prior to making payment, the USPS requested that Van Wolvelaerd show proof of his costs. In response, Van Wolvelaerd submitted to the USPS a certified claim that included several invoices detailing his costs, including three false invoices from an electric company. Two of the invoices falsely inflated CableComm’s costs, and the third was entirely fictitious.
The investigation also revealed that Van Wolvelaerd provided Robert Giulietti, a USPS facilities project manager, with $59,000 in cash in exchange for CableComm’s receiving USPS contracts.
On Dec. 12, 2017, Van Wolvelaerd pleaded guilty to one count of submitting false claims to the U.S. Postal Service.
“The U.S. Postal Service manages approximately 30,000 contract actions and spends more than $13 billion on contracted supplies and services each fiscal year," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Stuller. “The Office of Inspector General supports the Postal Service by aggressively investigating allegations of misconduct within the contracting process. In this instance, we worked hand-in-hand with the United States Attorney’s Office to help ensure a reasonable case-related resolution. We applaud the exceptional work by the investigative and prosecutorial team knowing it will have a positive impact on the entire contracting process."
In February 2014, Giulietti pleaded guilty to bribery, fraud and tax offenses. On May 30, 2014, he was sentenced to 42 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay $882,064 in restitution and $291,026 in back taxes, interest and penalties.
Van Wolvelaerd, who is released on a $20,000 bond, was ordered to report to prison on Jan. 3, 2019.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Clark.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
