Chicago businessman charged with federal fraud charges for allegedly defrauding clients and investors over $ 350,000 | USAO-NDIL

CHICAGO – Chicago businessman who claimed to earn substantial profits by buying and selling heavy industrial equipment has been charged with federal fraud charges for allegedly defrauding customers and investors of at least $ 350,000 .

BRIAN BLALOCK, 37, of Chicago, is indicted in an indictment released Thursday in U.S. District Court in Chicago with nine counts of wire fraud. The indictment has not yet been scheduled.

The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and William Hedrick, inspector in charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service in Chicago. Great help was provided by the Illinois Department of Securities. The government is represented by Deputy US Prosecutors Jacqueline Stern, Brian Havey and Matthew Getter.

According to the indictment, Blalock operated three Chicago-based companies – PWC Holdings LLC, Brian Blalock LLC and Parkwood Companies LLC – through which he purported to buy and sell trucks, trailers, road construction machinery, oilfield equipment and generators. Blalock solicited and obtained money from individual victims by falsely stating that he could either sell equipment directly to them or use their funds to buy and sell equipment to others and then share the substantial profits, according to the charges. .

In reality, Blalock had no intention of delivering hardware to victimized buyers, or using their investment funds to buy and sell hardware, the indictment says. Instead, Blalock used a substantial portion of the victims’ funds for his personal benefit, including his rent payments, utility bills, restaurant meals and retail purchases, according to the charges.

As a result of the scheme, Blalock from 2018 to 2021 caused victims to suffer at least $ 350,000 in losses, according to the indictment.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not proof of guilt. The accused is presumed innocent and has the right to a fair trial during which the government bears the burden of proving his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each count of wire fraud carries a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison. If found guilty, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal law and US sentencing guidelines.