A construction manager who orchestrated a sophisticated multimillion-dollar embezzlement scam while maintaining in the industry has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison. Jose Garcia, 52, of New York, was sentenced for his pivotal part in a $7 million fraud that lasted over a decade, involving sophisticated shell businesses and kickback payments to his co-conspirator.
Garcia was sentenced to 27 months in prison for two major fraud crimes—a $4.5 million embezzlement crime and a $2.1 million tax evasion felony, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Garcia held a profitable no-show employment with a technology business between 2012 and 2019 while continuing his genuine construction career.
The complex scam revolved around Garcia’s relationship with Mark Angarola, a Global Account General Manager at IT behemoth DXC Technology who supervised the company’s relationship with a significant financial institution client. Garcia performed no work for the contractor or subcontractor but invoiced the subcontractor month after month, asking for payment for alleged “management fees,” as stated by the Department of Justice. Garcia demanded monthly payments of $36,000, $45,000, $51,000, and $60,000.
Garcia’s illicit activities went well beyond mere invoice fraud. Federal authorities claim that Garcia provided Angarola with cash kickbacks exceeding $1 million to approve his fraudulent invoices. The plot involves numerous family members and friends, including Angarola’s wife, Allison; Garcia’s wife, Michelle Cox; and Angarola’s secretary, Lisa Mincak.
Mark Angarola arranged for the subcontractor to hire certain of his family members, friends, and subordinates, although these individuals — including a schoolteacher, a homemaker, a police sergeant, and a construction industry manager — lacked obvious qualifications to perform deskside IT work, as detailed in the original arrest announcement. According to The Register, these payments eventually covered slap-up meals, hotel stays, a cruise, trips to “gentlemen’s clubs,” and transportation fees, including a special car service that provided the Angarolas, their children, and friends with rides to parties, cigar bars, restaurants, and strip joints.
According to prosecutors, Garcia used the earnings of the fraud to pay for private school tuition, rent, luxury travel, luxury products, gym memberships, and sports memorabilia. Despite gaining millions from the conspiracy, Garcia took part in the embezzlement scheme despite having a full-time, profitable job as a construction consultant and project manager.
Garcia’s illicit activities went beyond embezzlement to systematic tax avoidance. Garcia did not file tax returns or pay income taxes from 2011 to 2019, according to federal authorities. This habit of tax avoidance resulted in a separate $2.1 million tax evasion charge, which added to his sentence.
Garcia’s case illustrates broader tendencies in white-collar crime that affect the construction industry. Embezzlement is the theft of funds by a person in a position of trust. Vitaliano Law defines the offense as a violation of trust, which distinguishes it from stealing. According to newly revealed Federal Trade Commission data, consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion due to fraud in 2024, a 25% rise over the previous year.
Recently, the Southern District of New York has seen a number of similar construction-related embezzlement prosecutions. A New York construction executive was sentenced to 51 months in prison today in Manhattan federal court for dodging taxes on more than $1.8 million in bribes from building subcontractors, according to previous Department of Justice prosecutions.
The pattern of construction fraud goes beyond individual occurrences. Recent prosecutions in the region have included cases of bribery, tax evasion, and embezzlement. NUNES, 59, of Yonkers, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion, which carries a potential sentence of five years in prison, and six charges of filing false tax forms in a separate construction contractor case, according to the Southern District of New York.
Garcia’s punishment is part of a wider prosecution involving several defendants. The conspirators fraudulently obtained at least the following approximate amounts via this scheme: Federal prosecutors have charged $1,468,215 to Mark Angarola, $751,641 to Allison Angarola, $4,554,950 to Jose Garcia and organizations he controlled, $335,500 to Michelle Cox, and $88,793 to Lisa Mincak. Three other members of the embezzlement scheme have pleaded guilty to date.
The conspirators used sophisticated means to conceal the illicit payments. Garcia further used nominee corporate and limited liability firms to conceal his receipt of monies for stated services accomplished under the subcontract, including alleged “management fees” owed, as disclosed by the IRS Criminal Investigation.
Garcia previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and tax evasion before U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho, who imposed the current sentence, according to court records. The case exemplifies the federal government’s dedication to prosecuting complex financial crimes that transcend sector lines.
The scheme’s connection to prominent firms exposes flaws in subcontracting relationships. According to DXC, Angarola oversaw the hiring of consultants whom he knew personally and had them submit fraudulent time sheets and costs to Atlas for payment by DXC, as disclosed in associated civil litigation. The civil action between Atlas Communications and DXC Technology adds insight into the commercial connections that permitted the fraud.
Mark and Allison Angarola were arrested in Point Lookout, NY, a small hamlet in Nassau County. Point Lookout is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hempstead, Nassau County, New York. The population was 1,527 at the 2020 census, according to Wikipedia. Mark and Allison Angarola were detained earlier this week at Point Lookout, New York, and appeared in Manhattan federal court, according to Shore News Network.
The case demonstrates how sophisticated financial crimes can arise from seemingly typical business interactions and impact areas distant from big financial centers. Garcia’s 27-month sentence serves as a reminder that federal prosecutors are actively investigating intricate theft schemes involving several defendants over several years.