Salem accountant indicted on 3 counts of bank fraud

Staff report

CLEVELAND

A federal grand jury has indicted a certified public accountant from Salem on three counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft, the U.S. attorney announced Wednesday.

Raymond G. Isabella, 54, was the chief financial officer for IntraSee Inc. of Westlake, a privately owned corporation, the indictment says.

Beginning in 2010, Isabella, in order to enrich himself, began charging IntraSee about $335,000 in excessive accounting fees, the indictment alleges.

When the company’s owners discovered this and confronted Isabella in May 2011, he arranged for the company to obtain loans from Huntington National Bank, but did not obtain the owners’ permission or authorization, the indictment says.

The indictment further alleges Isabella executed a scheme to defraud Huntington by obtain-ing three loans from that bank, falsely claiming that the loans had been signed and approved by IntraSee’s owners.

Isabella knowingly transferred, possessed and used the identification of IntraSee’s owners without their authority to defraud the bank, according to the indictment.

Accountancy Board of Ohio records show Isabella, who first was licensed in August 1981, has an active CPA license that will expire Dec. 31, 2012. Those records show an Avon address for him.

The FBI, IRS and Avon police investigated the case.