Darien Man Charged In Mail Fraud Scheme To Plead Guilty

DARIEN, CT — A 22-year-old Darien resident and former University of Miami student who was charged in connection with a multi-million dollar shipping fraud scheme has agreed to plead guilty, according to court documents which were made public last week.

Matthew Bergwall signed a plea agreement on April 18 in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., to mail fraud conspiracy, according to court filings. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and supervised release of up to three years.

Bergwall is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Christopher P. Tuite in Tampa on July 11 for a plea hearing.

As part of the plea deal, Bergwall must "make restitution to any victim."

Additionally, Bergwall has agreed "to cooperate fully with the United States in the investigation and prosecution of other persons," and to testify before any federal court proceeding or federal grand jury matter in connection with the charges in the case, court documents note.

Also last week, two Wisconsin residents were arrested in connection with the case and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, prosecutors said.

According to court documents, beginning around December 2021, Bergwall gained unauthorized access to compromised employee accounts of a multinational shipping, receiving, and supply chain management company, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Bergwall and his co-conspirators then used these accounts to submit fraudulent tracking information for certain merchandise shipped by the company on behalf of victim-retailers around the country, prosecutors said.

"This allowed the co-conspirators to pursue full refunds from victim-retailers while maintaining physical possession of the merchandise, such as high-end electronics, jewelry, designer clothing, and accessories," prosecutors said.

Bergwall and his co-conspirators offered this service for sale, prosecutors noted.

During a five-month period, the return-fraud scheme caused nearly 10,000 fraudulent returns and resulted in victim-retailers losing more than $8 million in merchandise, the indictment said. Bergwall's plea agreement did not mention the more than $8 million figure, but it noted the fraud scheme resulted in at least $550,000 in lost product and sales revenue to victim retailers.

Bergwall also purchased merchandise for himself and later submitted fraudulent tracking information to the shipping company, prompting full refunds from victim retailers, according to prosecutors.

Over the course of the fraud, prosecutors say Bergwall bought a $41,000 Rolex President Day-Date watch, a $600 TeamGee H2O Electric Skateboard, a $350 Samsung 43-inch Smart TV, and an $80 pair of Reebok shoes.