BATON ROUGE, LA – Acting United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson announced today that his office has charged a Pennsylvania man by Bill of Information with a wire fraud scheme for allegedly defrauding a Baton Rouge company and causing more than $500,000 in loss. If convicted, the defendant could face imprisonment for up to 20 years, a significant fine, restitution, forfeiture, and supervised release following imprisonment.
The Bill of Information filed today charges MURRAY CARL NEEREN, age 68, of Holland, Pennsylvania, with devising a scheme to defraud, and to obtain money and property from Edgen Murray Corporation of Baton Rouge (“Edgen”), by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses. Edgen is a global supplier of specialized products for energy and infrastructure markets, and supplies steel plate, pipes, fittings, flanges, valves, and other products to customers all over the world.
The Bill alleges that NEEREN worked for Edgen as an independent contractor and was based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. According to the Bill, NEEREN devised a scheme, using email and telephonic communications, to mislead Edgen regarding NEEREN’s work. NEEREN intentionally misled Edgen with respect to the cost of materials he was purchasing, for instance, and caused Edgen to believe that it was making a profit on subsequent sales involving the materials, when in fact NEEREN was re-selling the materials at a small profit or even at a loss. The bill alleges that NEEREN’s scheme caused Edgen to pay him $157,152.31 in fraudulent commission payments, and caused a total loss to Edgen of $592,584.07.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Pete Smyczek and Rene Salomon.
NOTE: A bill of information is an accusation by the Acting U.S. Attorney. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless adjudicated guilty at trial or through a guilty plea.