Three men have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in a commercial bribery and money laundering scheme connected to a Colorado electrical utility contractor. Edward Joseph Chmiel, 50, received a sentence of 30 months in prison, Sabino Loera, 51, was sentenced to 25 months, and Henry Lozano, 43, was sentenced to 23 months. Each defendant must also pay $1,495,781.51 in forfeiture money judgments and restitution.
Court documents state that Chmiel and Loera worked for an electrical contracting company serving a Colorado utility provider. Lozano owned a trucking and hauling business. In August 2018, the three agreed that Lozano’s company would provide services in exchange for kickback payments to Chmiel and Loera. To fund these kickbacks, they submitted false invoices from Lozano’s business to the employer of Chmiel and Loera. After payment on these invoices was received by Lozano’s company, Loera instructed Lozano to issue checks to fifteen other individuals who cashed them and delivered the cash proceeds back to Chmiel and Loera. This operation generated approximately $1.5 million between August 2018 and June 2020.
“We are proud to pursue people who enrich themselves by stealing money which was supposed to provide important services for Coloradans,” said U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly. “Our office appreciates the hard work of our investigative colleagues at the IRS and FBI which held these three accountable for their corrupt scheme.”
“Corruption such as this always has costs beyond any one company’s bottom line. This sentence should serve as a reminder that commercial bribery and corruption will not be tolerated,” said Amanda Prestegard, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-CI Denver Field Office. “Our special agents will continue to work with our federal partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate and prosecute those who perpetrate these kickback schemes.”
“Fraud and kickback schemes erode public trust and undermine the systems our communities rely on. This outcome proves that when agencies work together, we can root out corruption and hold offenders accountable,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “The FBI remains committed to protecting the integrity of our institutions and ensuring that no one is above the law.”
The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) led the investigation into this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Sonia Dave and Bryan Fields prosecuted it.
