On December 20, 2023, in the Eastern District of New York, Frances Cabasso pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Cabasso was purportedly 97 percent owner of Aventura Technologies (Aventura). According to a Department of Justice press release dated November 7, 2019, Cabasso and others secured products from outside of the U.S. while purporting that these products were made in America. They then sold these products to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other U.S. Government agencies.

Beginning in August 2006, Cabasso, Aventura, and others conspired to defraud customers, including agencies and contractors of the U.S. Government. Aventura falsely claimed that it manufactured its own products, when in fact Aventura imported its products from, among other countries, the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The products that Aventura imported from the PRC were resold as Aventura’s own products and included networked security cameras and related equipment with known cybersecurity flaws, including vulnerabilities that could allow a hacker to remotely assume control of a networked camera and obtain sensitive data.

Additionally, Cabasso, Aventura, and others falsely represented that Aventura was controlled by Cabasso to obtain set-aside contracts for Women-Owned Small Businesses, when in fact the company was controlled by her husband, Jack Cabasso.

Source: The facts in this case narrative come from the following publicly available documents: E.D.N.Y Plea Acceptance filed Dec. 20, 2023; E.D.N.Y. Change of Plea Hearing filed Dec. 11, 2023; E.D.N.Y Indict. filed Dec. 9, 2019; and Department of Justice press release dated Nov. 7, 2019