Repairman cheats field services company out of $450K

An oil and gas repairman cheated his employer out of more than $450,000 by creating a shell company in Oklahoma City to make fake invoices.

For nearly six years, Luis Enrique Damazo, 54, of Oklahoma City, submitted fictitious invoices from his shell company to Dexter Field Services for equipment, parts and tools it never received, according to Oklahoma City federal prosecutors.

On Monday, Damazo was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for mail fraud. U.S. District Judge Stephen P. Friot decided the punishment and ordered Damazo to pay $456,863 in restitution.

“I purposely set up a company to create invoices to receive payments under deception,” Damazo stated in plea paperwork. “I would mail the invoice to obtain that money under deception.”

Damazo’s attorney claimed the driving force behind the fraud was financial stress.

“Damazo’s financial stress led him, an otherwise law-abiding person, to make a very poor and aberrant decision,” defense attorney Miguel Garcia wrote in a court document. “Damazo did not commit the crime that he did to live a luxurious life or to drive expensive cars.”

The defense attorney noted Damazo’s actions stemmed from “the temptation to want to give more to his own children than what he had growing up.”

While prosecutors did not dispute that Damazo has no criminal history, they noted he was involved in this scheme for years.

“A defendant’s conduct that takes place repeatedly over a period of years can hardly be described as ‘aberrant,’” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Perry wrote in a court document.

The scheme occurred between 2009 and 2015 while Damazo was employed at Dexter Field Services as a repair technician, according to prosecutors. Dexter Field Services, based in Texas, provides leak detection, environmental monitoring and consulting services to industrial clients in the energy sector.

Damazo’s job was to repair toxic vapor analyzers used to detect leaks at oil and gas refineries, which often required ordering replacement parts. Rather than ordering parts from the original equipment manufacturer, Damazo ordered parts from BC Environmental, a company he secretly created and controlled, according to prosecutors.

“Damazo falsely represented to Dexter Field Services that he had no involvement with BC Environmental,” prosecutors alleged.

Damazo delivered fake order forms and invoices to Dexter Field Services, who then sent checks to BC Environmental.

As part of the scheme, Damazo leased an office in Oklahoma City for the fake company under the false identity Luis Enrique Cassinelli, according to prosecutors. Damazo even created a letterhead, logo and email for BC Environmental.

Prosecutors also alleged Damazo had his sons open bank accounts for BC Environmental and pose as employees for the fake company. BC Environmental was never officially registered with the Oklahoma Secretary of State.

Damazo was fired in August 2015 after Dexter Field Services discovered he controlled BC Environmental. He initially denied involvement and continued to solicit payment from Dexter Field Services for unpaid invoices from his shell company, according to prosecutors.

Damazo was charged in December with mail fraud. He pleaded guilty in February.

“Damazo fully acknowledges that the crime he committed was serious,” his defense attorney wrote. “Damazo made a terrible mistake but has learned his lesson.”