CEO of defunct MCSi Inc. pleads guilty to money laundering, fraud in federal court in Ohio

Ex-CEO of MCSi Inc. pleads guilty in federal court

CINCINNATI — Authorities say the chief executive of a now-defunct computer sales company has pleaded guilty to federal charges in a scheme to inflate the Ohio company’s stock price.

Prosecutors say MCSi Inc.’s Michael Peppel pleaded guilty Wednesday in Cincinnati to money laundering, conspiracy to commit securities, mail and wire fraud and willful false certification of a financial report.

Court documents say 43-year-old Peppel conspired between January 2000 and April 2003 to falsify company documents. The suburban Dayton-based MCSi filed for bankruptcy in 2003.

Prosecutors dropped 29 charges in exchange for the guilty pleas. Peppel could receive up to 50 years in prison.

MCSi resold computer technology and other products for businesses, schools and other agencies.

(This version CORRECTS APNewsNow. MCSi Inc. is correct.)