Lansing, MI - Denny DiCapo, 63, of Rochester Hills, pled guilty as charged last week, with a delayed sentence, to one count of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, a 20-year felony, and six counts of larceny by conversion, $1,000 to $20,000, five-year felonies, as a fourth habitual felony offender, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
DiCapo used his corporations, Biz Capital Brokerage, Inc. and Energy Acquisition Specialist, Inc., to defraud seven victims out of $26,000 in refundable good-faith deposits for the purchases of businesses. He identified himself as a business broker and listing agent for restaurants, a gas station, an automobile service center, and a jewelry/pawn store. DiCapo persuaded victims to pay him refundable good-faith deposits in order to purchase these businesses, but then stole the money when the deals fell through.
Per the plea agreement, DiCapo paid $5,000 in restitution at the time of the plea and has agreed to pay the remaining $21,000 in restitution during an 11-month delayed sentence. If DiCapo pays the remaining restitution before the end of his delayed sentence, the People agreed to dismiss the Conducting a Criminal Enterprise charge, and he will be sentenced on the remaining charges with a minimum sentencing guideline range of 10 to 46 months. If DiCapo fails to pay the entirety of restitution to the victims before the end of his 11-month delayed sentence, DiCapo has agreed to be sentenced on all charges.
“If we strive for a state where small businesses can flourish, we must secure a safe marketplace for investments and business transactions,” said Nessel. “Bad actors will take advantage of any marketplace where large sums are moving between parties. Importantly this plea agreement will see the victims’ funds restored on a reasonable timeline.”
DiCapo is scheduled to be placed on delayed sentence on September 18, 2023, before Judge Kwamé L. Rowe in Oakland County Circuit Court.