Former Wilton Businessman Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Military Veterans

A former Wilton businessman pleaded guilty today to operating an investment scheme that defrauded individuals, most of whom were military veterans, out of approximately $175,000, the Department of Justice said in a press release.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Joseph T. Morris, 52, now of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and two other individuals formed a company in Wilton in October 2011 to develop business opportunities in Iraq.

The company’s initial focus was on establishing a pizza restaurant at the U.S. Consulate compound in Erbil, Iraq, and establishing a business to distribute and install specialty window film, according to authorities. Morris was the company’s in-country manager in Iraq.

According to the DOJ, in pleading guilty, Morris admitted that he made numerous fraudulent representations to his co-founders regarding the restaurant and the window film business, knowing that this would induce potential investors to invest in the company.

Through the use of fraudulent emails and photographs, Morris falsely represented that a lease had been signed to establish a pizzeria on the U.S. consulate compound in Erbil and that progress was being made towards completing renovations and opening the restaurant, according to the release. Morris also falsely represented that the company had an exclusive arrangement with a specialty window film manufacturer to distribute and install the window film in all of Iraq.

Based on these misrepresentations, Morris caused approximately a dozen investors, most of whom were U.S. military veterans, to invest approximately $175,000 in the company. Instead of using the money from investors to pay for legitimate business expenses, Morris diverted large sums of money for his own personal use.

The scheme was revealed in late April to early May 2012 when one of the co-founders discovered that the company did not have a lease or agreement to open and operate a pizza restaurant at the U.S. consulate compound in Erbil or have an exclusive arrangement for the window film.

Morris pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer on Sept. 17.

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