LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas man was sentenced to 51 months in jail on Wednesday, capping a $6.1 million fraud investigation that started in 2017.
Mykalai Kontilai, previously Michael Contile, fled to Russia as investigators ready to cost him in 2020 with defrauding buyers in Collector’s Espresso Inc., doing enterprise as Collector’s Café (Collector’s Espresso), an organization included in California and headquartered in Las Vegas, based on a Thursday information launch from the U.S. Division of Justice.
Federal authorities acquired Kontilai again after he was arrested on an Interpol Pink Discover in Germany in 2023. He was extradited to america to face the pending costs in Could, and he pleaded responsible to at least one depend of wire fraud on Nov. 21. He was indicted in Nevada on June 3, 2020.
From 2012 to 2018, Kontilai defrauded victims who invested in Collector’s Espresso — an organization he claimed was on the verge of launching an internet public sale home for third-party owned collectibles, comparable to Hollywood and sports activities memorabilia, the Justice Division mentioned.
Kontilai misled buyers, telling them their cash can be used for reputable enterprise functions, based on courtroom information. He additionally instructed them he had raised $23 million for the enterprise and that he had put his personal cash into the corporate, saying he was not being paid a wage.
The truth is, Kontilai stole about $6.1 million for his personal private use, together with for the acquisition of luxurious items, flats, and automobiles. Earlier studies on the case point out he used investor funds to purchase a Cadillac and pay for personal faculty tuition and hire on luxurious houses all through the nation.
The U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC) started investigating Kontilai for misappropriating investor funds in or round 2017. Kontilai obstructed the investigation, forging paperwork and mendacity underneath oath to the SEC, based on the Division of Justice.
As a part of a plea settlement within the case, the federal government has moved to dismiss a separate case filed in Colorado on March 10, 2020.
FBI and the Legal Investigations Division of the IRS investigated the case. The Justice Division’s Workplace of Worldwide Affairs offered help in securing the extradition from Germany of Kontilai.
Trial Attorneys Brandon Burkart and Sara Hallmark of the Legal Division’s Fraud Part and Assistant U.S. Lawyer Jessica Oliva for the District of Nevada prosecuted this case. Former Fraud Part Trial Lawyer Emily Scruggs offered invaluable help.
Principal Deputy Assistant Lawyer Normal Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Division’s Legal Division; U.S. Lawyer Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada; Particular Agent in Cost Spencer L. Evans of the FBI Las Vegas Area Workplace; and Particular Agent in Cost Carissa Messick, IRS Legal Investigation (IRS-CI)’s Phoenix Area Workplace made the announcement.
