A Blackstone man was slapped with cuffs and carted off to court for allegedly bilking his ex-employer—a popular thrift store chain—in a wire fraud scheme, federal officials said. Anthony Prizio, 48, faced the music at his initial appearance in federal court in Worcester today before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts.
The 48-year-old is accused of cooking the books while managing the company’s Worcester store location between January 2019 and July 2021. The indictment alleges Prizio manipulated the clock, falsifying hours to funnel cash into his pockets, with some employees not even on the payroll anymore. The feds claim the scheme padded his wallet to help pay for personal bills like his home’s utilities, vehicle registration, and even vet services for his pets. Prizio is alleged to have tried covering his tracks, pumping up the store's productivity numbers with fake numbers to keep the ruse alive.
If Prizio's found guiltier than a fox in a hen house, he's looking at up to 20 years in the slammer, three years of supervised release, and a fine that could ring up as high as $250,000, or double the dough he's accused of pocketing. The charges are no small change; this is serious business handed down from the highest levels of law enforcement.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, the top G-man at the FBI's Boston Division, broke the news, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin J. Brown serving as the government's arm in court. But until the gavel drops and a jury weighs in, Prizio remains an innocent man in the eyes of the law, the indictment notes. The shirt doesn't fit until a jury says to wear it.
