'Marc the Oil Man' Sentenced for Defrauding Oil Companies, Customers

A Bridgeport man was sentenced to 27 months in prison Friday for operating a scheme to defraud both oil companies and individuals whose oil deliveries he fraudulently brokered.

Marc Cannon, 40, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Both the North Haven and North Branford police departments assisted in the investigation, along with the U.S. Secret Service and the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force.

Read more from the press release below:

According to court documents and statements made in court, between approximately February 2010 and April 2011, Cannon, sometimes known as “Marc the Oil Man,” engaged in a scheme to defraud heating oil companies and to obtain money from individuals who received oil deliveries.

Cannon posed as a retail customer when dealing with oil companies, and as a bargain oil seller when dealing with property owners. As part of the scheme, Cannon would make an offer to a property owner to sell oil at below market cost in exchange for a cash payment.

Then he would contact a retail oil company, set up a fraudulent account using stolen personal identifying information, and place an order for the oil company to deliver home heating oil to a property owned by the property owner.

The oil would be delivered to the property as ordered. Cannon would then collect cash for the delivery from the property owner, but he did not remit this payment to the oil company. When the oil company contacted the property owner to collect payment for the oil, the company would discover that the property owner had already made payment to Cannon.

Cannon was charged in a criminal complaint that was issued on April 13, 2011, and he was a fugitive until his arrest on January 30, 2014. On June 17, 2014, he pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

This matter was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, the North Haven Police Department and the North Branford Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Krishna R. Patel.