Lake Hiawatha Man Gets 71 Months for Wire Fraud Conviction

A Lake Hiawatha man received a sentence of 71 months in prison in Trenton federal court Tuesday. It's all about a multifaceted wire fraud scheme, said New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.

In June, Vlade Stojchevski, 41, entered a guilty plea to participating in the fraud. The Parsippany resident reportedly impersonated an international law firm and a financial institution as part of a purported investment caper.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, the victim of the wire fraud scheme first gave money to Stojchevski about 12 years ago. The plan was for Stojchevski to tell the victim that the money was invested in Russian securities.  Between 2007 and 2009, he solicited additional investments from the victim using a variety of ruses.

Previously, Stojchevski admitted that he used lies to persuade the victim to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars with him. He then falsely told the victim that he had hired D&L, an international law firm headquartered in New York, to help recover the victim’s investment.  In order to further the con, Stojchevski opened a New Jersey bank account in D&L’s name, using a false New Jersey Certificate of Incorporation for D&L.  

After opening the account in D&L’s name, Stojchevski created false documents, including letterhead and correspondence purportedly from D&L to the victim.  

As a result of Stojchevski’s false representations, the victim provided checks to D&L which Stojchevski used for his own benefit. 

In addition to 71 months behind bars, Judge Brown imposed four years of supervised release and ordered Stojchevski to pay $635,000 in restitution to the victim.