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Political consulting firm pleads guilty to wire fraud

LSA Strategies LLC faces a penalty of up to $500,000 for defrauding a candidate.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — LSA Strategies LLC has pled guilty to wire fraud before U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.

The company was founded by Steve Casey in June of 2012 and according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's office "schemed to defraud a candidate running for New York State Senate 60th District." The candidate was not disclosed by the U.S. Attorney, but the scheme took place between August and September 2012.

According to the U.S. Attorney:

"Steven Casey provided consulting services to Candidate 1, including arranging for campaign mailings to be printed by Company 1. In doing so, Casey requested that Company 1 increase each of its invoices to Candidate 1 by a specified amount.

 However, Casey did not inform Candidate 1 of the increase in the amount of the invoices, rather Casey led the candidate to believe that he was working on a voluntary basis. Candidate 1 was unaware that Company 1’s invoices were being increased to provide sums of money to Casey and LSA. After Candidate 1 paid the invoices, Company 1 paid LSA the amount by which the invoices had been increased. In total, Company 1 paid LSA $8,283.59."

The U.S. Attorney's office says the FBI provided assistance in the investigation.

Casey is a former deputy mayor for the city of Buffalo under Byron Brown's administration.

Sentencing is expected on December 1, 2021, before Judge Skretny.

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