John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian C. Turner Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned a 10-count indictment charging ANTHONY TEIXEIRA, 50, of Danbury, with wire fraud offenses related to an embezzlement scheme. The indictment was returned on Dec. 11, 2019, and Texiera was arrested yesterday.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, for more than 25 years, Teixeira was employed by Joseph Merritt & Company (“JMC"), a Hartford-based printing company. Teixeira most recently oversaw the JMC branch located in Danbury. Between approximately January 2012 and February 2019, Teixeira defrauded JMC and its customers by presenting sales orders, or test sales orders, to customers as though they were actually invoices. Customers, believing they were paying JMC for the work, then delivered payments into accounts that Teixeira controlled. Teixeira also stole printing-related inventory from JMC inventory and sold it online, but manipulated invoices to deceive JMC’s systems into thinking the company had sold the inventory. The loss attributable to Teixeira through these schemes is approximately $1.1 million.
The indictment charges Teixeira with 10 counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count.
Teixeira is released on a $50,000 bond.
U.S. Attorney Durham stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Danbury Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
