Pittsburgh resident pleads guilty to bankruptcy, mail fraud charges related to East Carson Street property destroyed by fire

Date: Sept. 16, 2024

Contact: [email protected]

Pittsburgh, PA - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of bankruptcy fraud and mail fraud, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Prasad Margabandhu pleaded guilty to two counts before United States District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand.

In connection with the guilty plea to the bankruptcy fraud charge, the Court was advised that, from March 2019 to June 2022, Margabandhu engaged in a scheme to defraud the bankruptcy court by filing multiple bankruptcy petitions in the names of companies he controlled called "RSP Pittsburgh" and "Shane Tracy Enterprises" solely to delay efforts by creditors such as the mortgage holder and taxing bodies to execute on judgments against a property at 1925 East Carson Street in Pittsburgh.

With respect to the guilty plea to the charge of mail fraud, Margabandhu admitted that his insurance claim relating to a June 2022 fire that destroyed the 1925 East Carson Street property was fraudulent. In particular, Margabandhu admitted that he had made several materially false statements to the company that insured the property.

Judge Weigand scheduled sentencing for January 14, 2025. The law provides for a total sentence of up to 25 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory C. Melucci and Shaun E. Sweeney are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Office of the United States Trustee conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Margabandhu.

IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.