Westfield Man and His Brother Accused of $1M Kickback Scheme

A Westfield man and his brother have been implicated in a $1 million kickback scheme, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Friday.

Matthew Mitrow, 40, of Westfield, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and his brother Michael Mitrow, 46, of Whithouse Station, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of tax evasion.

The Mitrows, who served as former executives of a New Jersey-based marketing agency, were allegedly receiving kickbacks to steer their marketing agency business to one of the companies owned by Robert T. Madison, a Phoenix businessman, according to the criminal charges filed by Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Kathryn Keneally, the assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division of the Department of Justice and Richard Weber, the chief of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation.

“As alleged, in exchange for steering business to his company, Robert Madison footed the bill for more than $1 million in personal expenses of Michael and Matthew Mitrow, including private jet travel, home renovation, and even a $19,000 tab at a New York City club.” Bharara explained. 

Michael Mitrow also allegedly conducted additional, separate schemes where defrauded his own marketing agency and failed to report income to the IRS.

“These defendants allegedly perpetrated fraud at every turn, and with today’s superseding indictment, this office and our law enforcement partners begin to hold them to account,” Bharara said.

Madison, 42, of Henderson, Nev., is also charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.