Tech executives indicted for trying to obstruct SEC investigation

Two former executives of a Florida-based technology company have been indicted for conspiring to obstruct a federal investigation into a Schaumburg firm whose CEO and CFO were indicted on fraud charges last year.

Christopher Young, 35; and Joshua Carlucci, 39, were each charged with conspiracy to obstruct, influence or impede an official proceeding in an indictment returned Thursday in federal court, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Young, who lives in Norwich, New York, is the former president of M2 Interactive Group. Carlucci, of Tampa, Florida, is the company’s former CEO.

They are accused of trying to obstruct an investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission into the 2013 purchase of M2 by Schaumburg-based Quadrant 4 Systems Corp., prosecutors said.

Quadrant 4’s CEO, 63-year-old Nandu Thondavadi, and its CFO, 55-year-old Dhru Desai, were indicted in November 2016 on federal fraud charges for misrepresenting the company’s financial condition and lying to regulators, the Sun-Times reported at the time. Additional wire fraud charges have now been filed against them in connection with the M2 acquisition.

The investigation into the previous fraud charges against the Quadrant 4 executives revealed they misrepresented the terms of their purchase of M2 by presenting a “fictitious acquisition agreement” to federal authorities, prosecutors said. When SEC attorneys tried to question Young and Carlucci about the agreement, Carlucci tipped Thondavadi off about the inquiry.

The Quadrant 4 executives then struck a deal with the M2 executives, offering them cash to lie to investigators and say they had previously authorized the terms of the fictitious agreement, the U.S. attorney’s office said. They tried to disguise payments of $102,900 to Young and $60,000 to Carluci as “consulting fees.”

In addition to the conspiracy charges, both Young and Carlucci have been charged with attempting to obstruct, influence and impede an official proceeding, prosecutors said. Carlucci was also charged with making false statements to the FBI.

Their arraignments have not yet been scheduled.