LI Man Charged In $1 Million Kickback Scheme With Nonprofit: US Atty.

BROOKLYN, NY — A Massapequa Park man was among four people were in superseding indictment for their roles in two schemes to pay kickbacks in return for business from a non-profit organization, federal prosecutors said.

Jonathan Velazquez, 54, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bribery, as well as substantive counts of wire fraud and federal-program bribery, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

He is also charged with money laundering conspiracies, prosecutors said.

The new charges are connected to a scheme in which Velazquez and another man, employees of a Brooklyn-based non-profit organization (the Organization), received kickbacks in exchange for steering business to a vendor owned by that man, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

In the first scheme, which was also detailed in the original indictment, Velazquez and Gary DSilva, of New Jersey, received approximately $500,000 in kickbacks in return for steering contracts worth
approximately $1.6 million to a vendor, prosecutors said.

The payments from the Organization were for the installation and maintenance of telephone, Internet, and network services at homeless shelters, operated by the Organization, prosecutors said.

In total, the Organization paid almost $2 million to a second vendor during the operation of the scheme, and with paid kickbacks in excess of $700,000 to DSilva and Velazquez, prosecutors said.

Velazquez will be arraigned at a later date.

United States Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said: “Today’s indictment underscores our strong commitment to prosecuting all illegal fraud and contract steering schemes.”

“These four defendants allegedly crafted a kickback scheme to enrich themselves by discreetly contracting a co-conspirator’s company to install security systems in several New York City homeless shelters,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia.