A 35-year-old Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to four years in prison for stealing more than $900,000 from electronics giant Best Buy Co. Inc. in a billing scheme and another federal crime in his home state.
Joseph A. Graziola III, of Lititz, Pa., was sentenced Wednesday in federal court after pleading guilty in June 2010 to two counts of mail fraud.
Graziola admitted that from December 2004 through December 2005 he submitted phony invoices to Richfield-based Best Buy on behalf of his shipping company for electronic equipment that was never sent. Graziola had Best Buy send the payments for those invoices, amounting to more than $900,000, to a post office box in Glenolden, Pa.
In addition, Graziola has also pleaded guilty to mail fraud in a separate case in Pennsylvania. In that case, he admitted that from May 2003 through January 2006, he fraudulently collected at least $120,000 in fees from more than 250 customers of his web-based Bad Credit B Gone (BCBG), which touted itself as a law firm that secures removal of unfavorable items from customers' credit reports in exchange for fees. In truth, Graziola never employed any attorneys and did not change anyone's credit reports.
He charged $500 per individual and $750 per couple for the services he supposedly provided.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
