LOS ANGELES—A Cincinnati-area man has been fined $32,000 and sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Specifically, Sean Patrick Casey of Batavia was convicted of "misrepresenting the nature of his business on applications for credit cards." The business was an adult entertainment company that ostensibly arranged private strip shows, but which Cincinnati police allege also involved illegal solicitations for sex.
According to the Cincinnati Business Courier, "Casey, 42, is the operator of Naughty Bodies, which marketed itself as an adult entertainment service in Ohio and Kentucky, as well as other businesses including S&C Communications and Allied Communications."
Instead of targeting the business for solicitation, however, the U.S. Attorney's Office apparently decided that the more prosaic crime of wire fraud would suffice just as effectively, if not more so.
"Casey accepted cash and credit card payments for portions of his operation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office," reported Lisa Benson for the Courier. "In December 2007, Casey applied for a merchant agreement which represented Naughty Bodies as providing services other than strippers. Casey did the same in June 2008 when he submitted a similar application to another institution. Based on the misrepresentations of the true nature of his business, Casey obtained merchant agreements with each of the financial institutions."
Unfortunately, not all the info on the applications was copasetic. "According to the U.S. Attorney’s office," added Benson, "Casey and an employee of Naughty Bodies submitted an 11-page document to one of the institutions that misrepresented the true nature of 420 transactions. Casey claimed the transactions were for either a clown, DJ, photo shoot, etc., but in reality they were for exotic dancers. According to the U.S. Attorney, Casey fraudulently obtained more than $200,000. Casey pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2013 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. After his prison sentenced is complete, Casey must serve three years of supervised release."
