Milwaukee fuel company CEO charged with wire fraud

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MILWAUKEE (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged the CEO of a Milwaukee fuel company with wire fraud after he allegedly bilked investors out of more than $6 million by exaggerating the company’s performance.

According to court documents filed Wednesday in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Blessing Egbon, CEO and founder of Exit 7c, Inc., bilked investors out of the money between August 2018 and and July 2020 by exaggerating profits, sales volume, growth and overall financial performance. He allegedly used the money to visit luxury nightclubs, fly on private jets and rent villas.

Court documents filed Thursday show he has agreed to plead guilty to three counts of wire fraud. Egbon’s attorney, Michelle Jacobs, declined comment.

Egbon also faces a civil lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That action was filed in August 2021. A jury trial has been set for this August.

Exit 7c sells fuel in bulk to trucking companies, rental car agencies and other transportation businesses.