A Utah resident has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in a fraudulent scheme involving dietary supplements and money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge David Barlow handed down the sentence to Phillip Gannuscia, 55, of Salt Lake City, who pleaded guilty last April to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In addition to the prison term, Gannuscia will serve two years of supervised release and must forfeit a Porsche 911 convertible that was linked to the criminal activity.
Court documents and statements made during hearings show that from December 2018 through April 2022, Gannuscia participated in a plan that involved creating fake companies using personal information from family and friends. These companies were used to obtain credit card processing accounts, which then processed consumer sales of nutraceutical and dietary products. Because these sales relied on misleading advertising, many customers requested refunds or initiated chargebacks, leading banks to close the accounts frequently.
To continue operations despite account closures, Gannuscia helped set up additional fake companies and directed others in preparing fraudulent documents. He admitted that he organized these activities specifically "to shield himself from public view and accountability" and instructed others "to forge and paste signatures on documents for the fake companies."
At the time of his involvement, Gannuscia was already under a court order barring him from credit card laundering or helping others make false statements to obtain payment processing services. He acknowledged laundering money multiple times with each transaction exceeding $10,000 in fraud proceeds. The total amount attributed to him exceeded $1.5 million.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Brent L. Andrus and Luisa Gough prosecuted the case.
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