Rockville Man Defrauded $1.3 Million, Sentenced To 12 Months: DA

ROCKVILLE, MD — A Rockville man has been sentenced to 12 months in prison and 12 months of home detention for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and failure to file a tax return, according to the D.C.'s District Attorney's office.

Mark L. Lezell, 74, pleaded guilty to the charges for his role in defrauding people and companies around the world of about $1.3 million, the DA said. Lezell worked with Issam Abu-Ghosh, 63, the DA said, to create a scheme to defraud people. Abu-Ghosh would tell the victims that his company could obtain a loan for them, requiring a good faith deposit first. The victims wold pay $15,000 to $250,000 that was deposited in Lezell's bank account, as he acted as the escrow agent.

The deal said that Lezell would hold the money until the Abu-Ghosh had obtained a loan for the victim— if he failed to find a lender, the money would be returned.

The DA says that the money was quickly transferred to Abu-Ghosh, and he never found any lenders. More than $1,653,955 was deposited into Lezell's account from the "good faith" payments.

Lezell was also charged for not filing a tax return in 2009, when he made more than $350,000 in gross income.

Abu-Ghosh, of Leezburg, Va., also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 months of incarceration, followed by 60 months of supervised release. Lezell was ordered to pay $1,787,678 in restitution and Abu-Ghosh was ordered to pay $1,358,980.