Wayne Couple Charged in Wire Fraud Scheme Remain Fugitives

Padma and Reddy Allen, two Wayne residents who allegedly played central roles in a New York City wire fraud and money-laundering scheme, remain fugitives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Tuesday.

The office of Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for Manhattan, confirmed the Allens are still fugitives from justice, a spokesman with the office said. The spokesman declined further comment.

The Allens were indicted in June 2011 on wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and bribery charges. They, along with seven others, allegedly defrauded New York City out of millions of dollars in connection with the development and implementation of CityTime in an attempt to modernize the City’s payroll system.

The project was originally supposed to cost $63 million. However, the project cost the City $600 million. The Allens allegedly received more than $400 million in fees TechnoDyne’s, the Allens’ company, received.

The U.S. Justice Department seized several Wayne properties that were part of more than $10 million in real estate and cash the Allens, Technodyne, or related companies owned: a 4,300-square-foot home on Little Place, a home and dental office on Ratzer Road, and a home on Valley Road. The latter two properties were assessed at $195,000 and $190,000 respectively.

TechnoDyne allegedly paid kickbacks to Gerard Denault, who was responsible for selected and overseeing subcontractors hired by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) the project’s primary contractor.  According to the original indictment, the Allens allegedly paid Denault and Carl Bell, a chief systems engineer, with SAIC, for every hour worked by every consultant hired by or through TechnoDyne.

A jury found Denault, Mark Mazer, and Dimitry Aronshtein guilty in the case.

“These three defendants and their partners in crime thought they had made off with nearly $100 million in taxpayer money, far more than they could have made by burglarizing banks, with a fraction of the effort,” Bharara said Friday in a statement. “What they now stand to reap is lengthy prison terms.”

TechnoDyne allegedly tried to conceal the kickbacks. The funds would allegedly be wired to accounts in India in the name of the other companies affiliated with TechnoDyne, who would then wire the money into bank accounts Denault and Bell created.

The Allens were charged with obstructing justice for lying to law enforcement about the kickback scheme.

If convicted, the Allens face 145 years in prison. Each counts carried a maximum penalty of $250,000 fine, or twice the value of the laundered funds, except the money laundering count, which carries a $500,000 penalty, or twice the value of the laundered funds.

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