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Larry B. Suchy Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings on March 26, 2009, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, LARRY B. SUCHY, a resident of North Dakota, pled guilty to 5 counts of wire fraud. Sentencing is set for May 21, 2009. He is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
SUCHY went into new communities and claimed to be a provider of different goods and services (wireless networking, solar and wind power systems). After he had convinced people to buy his services and obtained down-payments, SUCHY would leave town and never be heard from again, spending the money as his own. He moved from North Dakota to Montana then to South Dakota before he was caught. SUCHY was convicted and sentenced in regards to part of his scheming in North Dakota and is presently subject to a sentence of imprisonment imposed by a North Dakota state court in Fargo.
The purported businesses SUCHY held out to the public were Ablaze Technologies (wireless networking) and various entities tied to wind and solar power: Solar Breeze Energy LLC, Sun Breez Energy LLC, and he also claimed to be a distributor for Mag-Wind Company LLC.
An individual from the Sidney Health Center would have testified that between August 2004 and June 2005, SUCHY had agreed to provide and install wireless networking. There was a contract and the Sidney Health Center pre-paid $9,836.55. SUCHY took the money and did not provide the services.
Several individuals from Fallon County would have testified that from January 2006 to October 2006, SUCHY appeared in Baker and purported to be a supplier of wind and solar energy systems. Based on SUCHY'S misrepresentations that he could provide those systems, the Baker Public Schools engaged in negotiations with SUCHY. By way of interstate wires, SUCHY sought a pre-payment from the Baker Public Schools.
During that same time period, SUCHY successfully obtained prepayments on wind systems from individuals in Baker who paid by personal check. SUCHY took the money, spent it as his own, and provided nothing.
Other individuals would have testified that they prepaid SUCHY for purported energy systems. Those prepayments were sent by interstate wire to SUCHY'S bank account in Miles City. SUCHY took the money, spent it as his own, and provided nothing.
A review of SUCHY'S bank records revealed that he spent the "prepayments" on himself and not for any energy systems or wireless networking.
SUCHY was also investigated by the North Dakota Attorney General's Office in early 2006, at which time he then moved his scheme to Baker to avoid detection by relocating.
SUCHY faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release on each count.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan M. Archer prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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