Yesterday, Michael E. Conner, a resident of Lake George, New York, was convicted on charges of wire fraud and for failing to adequately file tax returns. The announcement came from United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Harry Chavis, according to a press release. Conner, 56, deceived investors into funding his life of leisure under the guise of business expenses for marketing and selling his patented inventions.
The evidence presented during the 8-day trial before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino demonstrated that Conner had never actually sold any of his patented inventions, which include a unique paint bucket and a knife with a heated blade. Despite this, Conner managed to to still receive approximately $6 million from investors and lenders since 2008, spending the funds on high-end restaurants, expensive wines, and concert tickets for personal pleasure instead of business advancement. In total, Conner was convicted of 22 counts of wire fraud and two counts of failing to file tax returns for the years 2020 and 2021.
Conner's schemes left many victims in their wake, with residents from Virginia, North Carolina, and Warren County being defrauded. The trial evidence, as presented, showed that Conner earned over $136,000 in loans in 2020 and more than $257,000 in 2021, all while not holding a job or maintaining any savings. Despite the influx of funds, he failed to file personal tax returns, leading the jury to find that Conner treated the loans as personal income.
Following the guilty verdict, Conner was immediately taken into custody. At his sentencing set for August 14, 2025, he faces up to 20 years in prison and fines reaching $250,000 for the wire fraud convictions, along with a potential one-year jail term and $100,000 in fines for the tax misdemeanors. The IRS-Criminal Investigation led the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Barnett and Mikayla Espinosa to properly prosecute. Conner was acquitted on one count of wire fraud and two counts of failing to file returns for 2018 and 2019.
