Seaford Man Charged In Scheme To Defraud Public Utility Of Millions

A Seaford man was charged for his part in an alleged 11-year scheme to defraud a public utility company of millions of dollars. Authorities say he allegedly worked with a man from Queens to carry out the scheme.

Louis Bendel, 69, of Seaford, and John Farchione, 64, of Queens are each charged with one count of honest services fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and aggravated identity theft. The highest charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

"John Farchione, an employee of a public utility, and Louis Bendel, the owner of a payment processing vendor, allegedly stole more than $3.8 million from the public utility and its customers," said Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim. "As alleged, instead of providing the fair and honest services the public deserves and the law requires, the defendants instead looked to the public utility as a vehicle to satisfy their personal greed."

From 2005 to 2016, Farchione was the manager of customer operations for the utility, and oversaw payments. Bendel was the owner of a company that aggregated payments from customers to the utility. According to authorities, Farchione allegedly came up with a scheme in which Bendel would collect cash payments from customers and then submit fraudulent checks to Farchione. Because of his position, prosecutors say, Farchione was able to conceal that the checks were fake.

"The right to honest services is something every member of the public should enjoy, and those who stand in the way will most certainly be held accountable," said FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr.

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