Businessman Charged with Fraud

BATON ROUGE, LA—United States Attorney James Stanley Lemelle announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging GARY SEALE, age 56, of Zachary, Louisiana, with wire fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a financial institution, filing false tax returns, and forfeiture. SEALE faces a maximum sentence of 236 years in prison and a fine of $3,950,000.

The indictment alleges that, from 2001 until 2009, SEALE, who owned and operated BIS Business Brokers, solicited and obtained through false and fraudulent representations approximately $500,000 in deposit and investment money from clients which he subsequently diverted to his own personal use, the use of others, and to pay debts he owed to others. SEALE allegedly laundered some of the proceeds of the fraud. The indictment also alleges that SEALE made false statements to a financial institution in connection with a $900,000 loan obtained through a loan program sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration. SEALE is also alleged to have filed false income tax returns for the years 2004 and 2005.

U.S. Attorney Lemelle stated: “This office, together with our federal, state, and local partners, will continue to aggressively pursue those who seek to defraud our citizens, our businesses, and our government. Such crimes undermine the economic well being of our country and must be rooted out.”

"Honest and law abiding citizens are fed up with those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money as well as skirt their tax obligations," said Michael J. DePalma, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-Criminal Investigation, New Orleans Field Office. "Tax crimes have erroneously been referred to as victimless, but that position could not be more wrong. Special Agents of IRS Criminal Investigation are premiere financial investigators and will continue to use their expertise to protect our law abiding citizens."

The charges against SEALE result from an extensive investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Criminal Investigation Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS-CI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Office of Inspector General for the Small Business Administration (SBA-OIG), and the Louisiana State Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson who serves as a deputy criminal chief.

NOTE: An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that probable cause exists to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty at trial.