United States of America v. Jason Knobloch

Buffalo, New York, criminal defense lawyer presented the Defendant charged with bank fraud.

Reported by Kent Morlan

Since February 2021, Jason Knobloch, 56, of Lancaster, NY, and others have been carrying out a scheme involving the fraudulent sales of forklifts and other similar equipment, claiming to sell these items through various companies that they controlled. The companies included KJJK Equipment Sales d/b/a Kelly Lift Equipment and Clover Lift Equipment d/b/a Lifts 4 Less. Victims conducted online searches for equipment and would either contact, or be contacted by, employees of Knobloch’s companies. Cost negotiations were conducted and once an agreement was reached, victims were provided with payment instructions. However, after ordering and paying for the equipment, it was either never delivered or, in rare instances, equipment of lesser value was sent instead of what was actually ordered.

When victims contacted Knobloch’s businesses regarding their orders, they were initially given various excuses about why the equipment had not been delivered. Eventually, the companies stopped responding to victim emails and phone calls altogether. In the rare instance equipment was delivered, serial numbers for the delivered equipment did not match the serial numbers for the ordered equipment and the hours on the delivered equipment were much higher than what was advertised. Partial and full refunds occurred occasionally, but typically only after the company was confronted and advised that legal action was forthcoming.

In total, Knobloch and his co-conspirators have defrauded approximately 32 victims, resulting in more than a million dollars in fraud loss. The investigation also identified additional fraud attempts in which Knobloch sought to deposit checks utilizing customers’ bank account information without the customers’ knowledge and consent and long after the victims first attempted to purchase equipment. For example, in December 2021, the owner of Plumb Level and Square sent a $59,900.00 check to Lifts 4 Less, which was cashed on December 21, 2021, but the equipment was never delivered. In August 2022, approximately eight months later, the owner stated that an attempt was made to cash a check, made out to Knobloch, utilizing the owner’s bank account information. Another attempt to deposit $59,900.00 utilizing the banking information of Plumb Level and Square was made in September 2022. Several more similar attempts were made to deposit checks totaling $27,000.00, $22,600.00, and $28,400.00, utilizing customers’ bank account information without their knowledge. Impacted financial institutions included Bank of America, Citizens Bank, and Good Neighbors Federal Credit Union.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.