Eau Claire man receives 25 federal charges in fraud scheme

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - An Eau Claire main was indicted on 25 federal charges on Oct. 12 in a fraud scheme covering nearly five years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

According to a release from the DOJ’s Western District of Wisconsin, 43-year-old Robert Carter is charged with 17 counts of wire fraud, two counts of identity theft and six counts of money laundering.

The DOJ said Carter schemed to defraud financial institutions and other businesses from April 2016 through Jan. 2021, getting credit cards and loans by using false information such as his employment, income, ownership of real estate, and the identity of another person. Carter also obtained proprietary information and identification from businesses in this process to apply for loans without the business owners’ knowledge. In total, Carter acquired $511,177 in the fraud scheme.

If Carter is convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of the 17 wire fraud and six money laundering charges, as well as a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for each of the identity theft charges, which have to be served consecutively to any other prison sentence ordered.

The charges are a result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Trustee’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin.