'Day of reckoning' comes for men who created fake country to steal millions in Covid relief funds
The four fraudsters who created a fictional country in a failed attempt to scam $11.5 million from government programs, including those designed to help people during the pandemic, will be living in federal prisons for the next several years.
"It was all a bunch of hocus-pocus" U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller said as he doled out one of the four prison sentences during a hearing last week. "It was all fantasy."
The elaborate fraud scheme included incorporating the bogus Consulate of Al Moroc. Wisconsin corporate records show a post office box in Chicago as the consulate's principal office. A State Department official testified during the trial that Al Moroc is not a country recognized by the U.S. and that it has no diplomatic status.
The foursome — including one Milwaukee man, two Illinois cohorts and a man who lived in Maryland and Florida — were convicted on fraud charges last year.
Prosecutors say the four pocketed more than $1.2 million in the scheme and used the cash to finance lavish lifestyles, including buying jewelry, living in a Ritz-Carlton hotel, going on a Las Vegas trip and buying pricey cars including Mercedes Benzes, a Porsche and a Maserati.
Last week, Stadtmueller sentenced them to between 80 months and 150 months in prison.
Aziz Hassan Bey, a Milwaukee man also known as Chauncey Hooks, was sentenced to 106 months in prison, followed by three years supervision. Prosecutors say he used the stolen cash to pay for a Las Vegas trip, a Maserati and jewelry.
Divine-Seven El, also known as Mark Stevens or Mark Nesbitt, was sentenced to 150 months in prison, followed three years of supervision. Prosecutors say he used the stolen money to buy a Porsche and paid $33,000 a month to live in a Ritz-Carlton in Miami.
Minister Zakar Ali, also known as Anthony Allen, was sentenced to 140 months, followed by three years of supervised release. The Illinois man collected government cash by claiming to operate a farming business and a barber shop run out of Aziz Bey's Milwaukee home.
Letez Osiris Bey, also known as Devonne Robinson, was sentenced to 80 months, followed by three years of supervised release. He used the proceeds of the scheme to fund "everyday living," including spending thousands of dollars at Neiman Marcus, Saks and the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago.
Each man was handcuffed immediately after sentencing and walked out of court by U.S. Marshals to begin serving their sentences.
"Sir, your sentence begins today," Stadtmueller told Ali.
Divine-Seven El looked to the gallery and blew a kiss to someone as the Marshals approached him.
The men "basically decided to steal from the government instead of work for a living — filling out countless fake vehicle title applications, unemployment applications, and COVID loan applications," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in sentencing memorandums filed with the court.
The four were convicted in October on fraud charges related to three schemes spanning from 2018 to 2021. Those schemes included defrauding private lenders and the state Department of Transportation, defrauding state workforce agencies by submitting false claims for unemployment insurance, and scheming to fraudulently pocket millions from federal programs designed to help businesses that were struggling through the COVID-19 pandemic. Defendants targeted loans from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and the Paycheck Protection Program.
"The case does require a significant sentence because the conduct is significant," Stadtmueller said. "Every taxpayer who contributes to the well-being of society is a victim."
Stadtmueller told Minister Zakar Ali, "The day of reckoning has come."
Contact Cary Spivak at (414) 550-0070 or cspivak@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cspivak.
Contact Mary Spicuzza at (414) 224-2324 or mary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Men who used fake country to scam Covid relief money sent prison
