Date: 09-10-2024

Case Style:

United States of America v. Lyell Champagne, Jr.

Case Number: 3:22-cr-00163

Judge: Sarala V. Nagala

Court: The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (New Haven County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in New Haven

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

New Haven, Connecticut criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Fraud and Tax Offenses
Missouri Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Federal Prison for Fraud and Tax Offenses

Between approximately March 2021 and April 2022, Lyell Champagne, Jr., age 24, of St. Louis, Missouri, conspired with Kristian Gupta to obtain online bank account credentials from potential victims, and then transfer money from victims’ bank accounts to cryptocurrency accounts controlled by Champagne and Gupta. As part of the scheme, Gupta provided Champagne with personal identifying information of victims, and Champagne used that information to open email accounts and accounts at a cryptocurrency exchange. Champagne and Gupta attempted to recruit bank “insiders” to participate in their scheme, but were disrupted by an undercover law enforcement investigation and failed to transfer any funds from compromised accounts.

In a second scheme, Champagne filed wholly fictitious tax returns for “Shireberk International,” which had no actual business operations, for the 2018 through 2021 tax years. The returns resulted in a refund of $3,449,935.

Judge Nagala ordered Champagne to pay restitution of $111,738.52. The remaining funds were recovered by law enforcement.

On June 11, 2024, Champagne pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of filing false claims with the IRS. He has been detained since October 2022 when his bond was revoked.

On April 19, 2024, Gupta, of Port Charlotte, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 19, 2024.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Chang.

Outcome:

Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release,

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

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