A Salamanca man who operated phony debt restructuring businesses that defrauded about 20 area small businesses of about $1.2 million has pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering.
35-year-old Sergiy Bezrukov faces up to 35 years in prison when he’s sentenced on July 24.
The US Attorney’s Office says Bezrukov and others sent solicitation letters under fake names, offering small businesses help with restructuring high interest loans. After the business owners agreed to hire Bezrukov’s phony company, he and others would withdraw money from the bank accounts of the businesses, but never repaid any loans on the businesses’ behalf.