Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging CHARLES M. AMEER, 64, of Weston, with three counts of wire fraud stemming from an alleged embezzlement scheme.
The indictment was returned on November 8, 2023. Ameer appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and entered a plea of not guilty to the charges. He has been released on a $500,000 bond since his arrest on a federal criminal complaint on August 31, 2023.
As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, from 2017 through 2022, Ameer was the Chief Financial Officer at Indeco North America, a wholly owned subsidiary of Indeco Ind. S.P.A, headquartered in Milford. In October 2017, Ameer created a $40,000 check, which was drafted on Indeco’s bank account and made payable to the order of “WSC.” Ameer then used the check to reimburse the Weston Soccer Club, located in Weston, for funds he had previously taken from the club without its permission or authority. Ameer subsequently created additional checks, in the total amount of $850,000, which were drafted on Indeco’s bank account and made payable to him. He deposited the checks into his personal bank account and used the funds for his own benefit.
If convicted, Ameer faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count of wire fraud.
U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Cherry.