Edwardsville man pleads guilty to fraud, money laundering

An Edwardsville man has pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court in Missouri.

Adam Bernaix, 35, of Edwardsville pleaded guilty to felony counts of mail fraud and money laundering before U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey. He was accused of submitting false invoices to his employer on behalf of a shell company he created.

Bernaix apparently created Trident Management Solutions solely to bill companies doing business with his employer, Albert Arno, an HVAC contractor operating in St. Louis. As a project manager, Bernaix marked up Trident invoices so Arno would provide the extra money needed for “Trident’s” clients to pay their bills.

At one point Bernaix employed a relative to perform occasional jobs, but even after the sole employee left and Trident did nothing, Bernaix continued to send bills to clients and mark up the bills to Arno in order to keep money flowering, according to a press release from the U.S. District Attorney’s office.

Bernaix faces up to 20 years in prison on each of two mail fraud counts, up to 10 years on each of two money laundering counts, and fines up to $250,000 in addition to restitution for the victims under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the IRS criminal investigation division. Bernaix will be sentenced on Oct. 25 in the Eastern Missouri district of U.S. federal court.

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 1:56 PM with the headline "Edwardsville man pleads guilty to fraud, money laundering."