Virginia Man Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Fraud Scheme and Possessing Fraudulent Austrian Passport

 Defendant Also Must Pay $3.6 Million in Restitution

            WASHINGTON – Tyrone Grandberry, 61, of Woodbridge, Va., has been sentenced to 24 months in prison on charges of wire fraud stemming from a scheme to defraud people who trusted him to invest money on their behalf, and possessing a fraudulent immigration document.

           The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Robert E. Bornstein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division, and Carlos F. Matus, Acting Director of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

           Grandberry pleaded guilty in July 2019 to one count each of wire fraud and possessing a fraudulent immigration document. He was sentenced on July 20, 2021, by the Honorable Paul L. Friedman in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Upon completion of the prison term, he will be placed on three years of supervised release. He also must pay restitution to victims totaling $3,622,185.

           According to the government’s evidence, Grandberry and others solicited investments totaling approximately $4 million and diverted money for their personal use. In some cases, Grandberry “repaid” or “refunded” prior victims with money that he obtained from new investors. He also obtained and possessed a fraudulent Austrian passport in another name. 

          In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips, Acting Special Agent in Charge Bornstein, and Acting Director Matus commended the work of those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. They also commended the efforts of those who handled the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Jessica McCormick and Assistant U.S. Attorney Demian Ahn, who prosecuted the matter.