SHELTON – A Shelton businessman was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for stealing more than $230,000 from pandemic-era relief programs.

Vincenzo Minutolo, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley Dec. 10, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He was also ordered to pay back $244,612 to the government.

Minutolo owned a business, City Sounds Production LLC, which in 2021 opened a recording studio in Milford. The business also sold A/V equipment. According to court documents, Minutolo inflated his company’s income in order to secure about $145,000 in loans from the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

Separately, Minutolo exploited a pandemic-era program providing unemployment insurance in order to steal between $86,000 and $273,000 from the government. According to court documents, he submitted multiple applications using other people’s names – including his grandfather, who had passed away in 2014 – in order to receive multiple paychecks from the government each week.

Minutolo pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in February. Prosecutors asked for a 21-month sentence – the same as what was handed down – while Minutolo’s attorney asked for a 12-month sentence instead.

In the defense’s sentencing memo, federal public defender Andrew P. Giering argued Minutolo should be given a light sentence as a first-time offender. He said he should be released sooner rather than later, so that he can start working toward paying back the money owed.

The memo also argues that for Minutolo – a firearms enthusiast and recreational hunter who has the text of the Second Amendment tattooed on his arm – the inability to own a gun as a felon already serves as punishment for his crime.

“Mr. Minutolo will never be able to participate in recreational hunting or shooting again with family and friends, visit the shooting range, or pass down the traditions that his grandfather shared with him,” Giering wrote.

Included in court documents is a letter asking for leniency from a Bridgeport pastor. He wrote that Minutolo had been a member of the church for 14 years, providing volunteer A/V support throughout that time.

“As a pastor, I live in the tension of acknowledging both the seriousness of his offenses and the long, consistent pattern of service, generosity, and good character he displayed within our church,” the man wrote.

The defense also submitted eight other letters in support of Minutolo, from relatives and other churchgoers.

However, prosecutors said in their own sentencing memo that Minutolo’s fraud required extensive planning and effort over a period of 19 months. In a sentencing memo from Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser, prosecutors asked the court to pay “short shrift” to the defense’s arguments.

“This was not an aberrant offense; here the defendant engaged in a repeated, calculated effort to take advantage of the system at a time of national emergency during the pandemic,” Schmeisser wrote.

Prosecutors argued that a 21-month sentence was appropriate for the crime, and that Minutolo’s background does not excuse his actions.

“As apparently acknowledged by the (pre-sentencing report) and the defense, the defendant has not had an upbringing or background that should in any way excuse his repeated acts of fraud,” Schmeisser wrote.

The memo said that, since it is unlikely Minutolo will be able to pay back the stolen money in full, a significant prison sentence is the only solution available to deter would-be white-collar criminals.

It also noted that Minutolo has not paid back any of the owed money since pleading guilty in February.

“If the defendant were to receive the sentence advocated by defense counsel, this defendant and others like him might certainly conclude that crime does pay – in fact, it pays quite well,” the memo says.

Minutolo is required to report to federal prison Jan. 22.

He is also facing two, state-level cases in Stamford and Middletown on charges of forgery, identity theft, larceny, and attempt to commit larceny. Those cases remain pending. However, the Middletown case is expected to be dismissed, according to court documents submitted by Minutolo’s attorney.