Eighth Defendant Sentenced in Attempted $17 Million Fraud of DOT

Office of Inspector General

Title:	Eighth Defendant Sentenced in Attempted $17 Million Fraud of DOT
Date:	December 10, 2004
Type:	Investigation
Summary:	Cesi A. El Binyamiyn, of Philadelphia, PA was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Camden, NJ to four months of home confinement and three years probation for her part in a scheme to defraud DOT and other entities of over $17 million. El Binyamiyn pled guilty in August 2004 to one count of misprision of a felony relating to her knowledge of and concealment of a conspiracy to possess and pass false and fictitious money orders with intent to defraud. DOT suffered no monetary loss, but some creditors accepting the money orders lost over $91,000. Five of the other defendants whose cases went to trial were fined and sentenced to serve jail time. El Binyamiyn received a lesser sentence because there was no evidence that she took an active part in the scheme. She is the eighth person sentenced, with the last defendant’s sentencing scheduled for January 4, 2005. The investigation was conducted jointly with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service.