Medina Resident Charged in Connection with Theft of Nearly $1.5 Million from Former Employer

An information has been filed against Frank J. Lomanno charging him with mail fraud in connection with the theft of almost $1.5 million from his former employer, First Communications, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today.

Lomanno, age 52, resides in Medina, Ohio.

The information alleges that Lomanno held the positions of Accounting Manager, Controller, and Chief Financial Officer and engaged in a scheme to defraud First Communications during the period from August 2003 through December 2008. Specifically, the information alleges that Lomanno fraudulently obtained $1,471,766.57 from First Communications from four sources.

First, the information charges that Lomanno converted 10 U.S. Treasury checks totaling $205,435.43 that were payable to First Communications and deposited them into a bank account he had established. Second, the information further charges that Lomanno caused First Communications to issue nine checks totaling $218,858.69, payable to FC Enterprises, which Lomanno then converted and deposited into another bank account he had opened. Third, Lomanno misappropriated 42 checks from First Communications totaling $975,959.43, that were payable to a legitimate vendor of the company. Fourth, the information alleges that Lomanno diverted a tax refund check for $71,513.02 from the State of Delaware that was intended for First Communications.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendants’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Sammon, following a joint investigation by the Cleveland Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Akron Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.

An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.