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Former Carr copier salesman charged with fraud

by David Winzelberg Published: October 3, 2012 Tags: Anthony Masotto, Arraignment, Carr Business Systems, copiers, fraud, mail fraud

Anthony Masotto, a former salesman for Carr Business Systems in Melville, was arrested by the FBI and charged with mail fraud Wednesday. Arraigned by U.S. Magistrate A. Kathleen Tomlinson in federal court in Central Islip, Masotto, 50, of East Islip, is alleged to have altered contract terms involving the leasing of millions of dollars in copy machines and other office equipment, according to the federal complaint. The alleged copier leasing fraud was first reported by LIBN in March 2011. The feds say Masotto, once Carrs top earner, chalked up more than $3.4 million in commissions from 2004 to 2010, some of which he may have to give back in forfeiture if convicted. Hes charged with two counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud for allegedly changing the length of lease terms from 36 to 63 months, which resulted in higher commissions. Carr paid Masotto 40 percent of the companys gross profit from each lease, the complaint said. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison from each count. Masottos arrest follows a couple of civil lawsuits filed by former Carr clients charging the company and its former top salesman with fraudulently changing lease agreements and inflating the value of its equipment. By extending the lease terms and inflating the equipments value to finance companies, those companies paid Carr much more than the equipment leases were actually worth, according to a lawsuit filed by former customer Charles Harris of Oxford Management against Carr, Xerox, Masotto and Carrs former president Mitchell Cohen. Cohen and former Carr CFO Denise Materazzo resigned from the company

in April 2011. In their lawsuits, customers claimed Masotto would lease them new equipment without paying off the leases of the old machines. Michael Ciantro, who had been a customer service manager at Carr for eight years, told LIBN last year that there were many copiers sitting in the companys upstairs warehouse on Spagnoli Road that some customers were unknowingly making payments on because the company failed to pay off the old leases after the customers received new equipment. Some Carr customers had also challenged the validity of their signatures on leasing paperwork. Lawrence Litwack, the owner of Big Apple Abstract, a title insurance agency in Bayside, wrote to the U.S. Attorneys Office in 2010 that he never signed a Carr lease contract that was faxed to him from GE Capital Solutions, one of the finance companies Carr and Xerox sell the leases to. Big Apple was listed as one of the victims of Masottos alleged fraud, according to the federal complaint. Other alleged victims listed included Ameritrust National Mortgage in Lake Success, Mineola Ophthalmology, and the Childrens Medical Fund of New York in New Hyde Park. Robert Altchiler, the Manhattan-based attorney who brought the matter to federal authorities on behalf of some victims, expressed his gratitude to the investigators and the U.S. Attorney. I found the investigators to be extraordinary and the United States Attorney moved quickly to take appropriate action, he said. Attorneys for Masotto couldnt be reached for comment.
David Winzelberg Reporter Long Island Business News 631.913.4247 917.796.1801 david.winzelberg@libn.com

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