Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced the guilty plea and sentencing of Murex Management, Inc. (MMI), based in Plano, Texas, for aiding and abetting fraudulent transactions that defrauded financial institutions. The case involved failed New Orleans-based First NBC Bank. U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier sentenced MMI to pay $15,745,846.10 in fines and restitution.
Court documents reveal that MMI was associated with Murex LLC, an ethanol marketing company. Another entity, referred to as "Company A," was a subsidiary of a foreign publicly traded company operating ethanol plants. Starting in 2013, Company A faced financial difficulties and sought help from MMI for a strategy called "buy/sells." This involved creating fictitious invoices for ethanol sales between the two companies to be sold as accounts receivable through a New Orleans-based marketplace.
The plea documents state that from October 28, 2013, to September 18, 2015, Company A and MMI engaged in approximately $1.2 billion in fraudulent transactions, resulting in a profit of about $6 million for MMI. The auctions defaulted by Company A led to significant losses for First NBC Bank and another bank based in North Carolina.
As part of its plea agreement, MMI agreed to pay fines and restitution totaling over $15 million to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and other affected parties.
“The conclusion of this case sends a clear message,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson. “Entities that engage in fraudulent schemes...will be held accountable.”
Robert De Los Santos from the FDIC OIG emphasized their commitment to holding corporate offenders accountable: “We remain committed to investigating...those who defraud our insured financial institutions.”
Kimberly Bahney from the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division highlighted their role: “We remain committed to holding accountable those who defraud the government.”
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the FDIC Office of Inspector General and the Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division.
Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Payne and Nicholas D. Moses prosecuted the case.
