LI Man Pleads Guilty To Defrauding Employer Of Millions

A Floral Park man pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges against him today as part of a case against him for defrauding a company he worked for.

Hicham Kabbaj, 48, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which has a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.

“As he admitted today, Hicham Kabbaj defrauded the company for which he worked by arranging for payment of fraudulent invoices to a shell company he created," said Geoffrey S. Berman, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. "Kabbaj now awaits sentencing for his $6 million deception.”

According to Berman, from August 2015 until May 2019, Kabbaj, who was a senior manager in the Manhattan office of an unnamed internet company, controlled a shell company called Interactive Systems, claiming it provided various IT products and services. Kabbaj used his shell company to send invoices to the company he worked for, claiming that Interactive Systems had performed services and purchased firewalls and servers for the other company.

Kabbaj quickly transferred the money the company paid to Interactive Systems to his own bank accounts. In all, Kabbaj defrauded his employers of more than $6 million.

As part of his plea agreement, Kabbaj will forfeit homes he owns in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and Hewitt, New Jersey, and has agreed to pay $6,051,453 in restitution.