A Greece man has been charged in federal court after prosecutors say he fraudulently collected more than $1.3 million by filing thousands of false claims in class action lawsuit settlements.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced the arrest of 38-year-old Phillip Digennaro, who is charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. The most serious charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison if he is convicted.
According to the criminal complaint, Digennaro allegedly submitted fraudulent claims in dozens of class action lawsuits between January 2022 and December 2025 to obtain settlement payments he was not entitled to receive.
Federal investigators allege Digennaro used more than 480 bank accounts at eight financial institutions, along with PayPal, to carry out the scheme. Authorities say he received approximately 27,052 payments totaling more than $1.3 million from roughly 107 separate class action settlements. Prosecutors allege he continued transferring the proceeds among accounts under his control through April 2026.
One of the lawsuits cited in the complaint involved the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EcoDiesel Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability litigation, which provided compensation to owners of certain Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel vehicles over alleged emissions-related misrepresentations.
Investigators allege Digennaro received nine settlement payments totaling $27,060 from that case after submitting fraudulent claims. Authorities say he used at least five fake driver’s licenses to support those applications.
On May 21, federal agents executed a seizure warrant and confiscated approximately $1.22 million from accounts allegedly controlled by Digennaro.
Investigators also searched his residence, where they say they recovered multiple class action settlement checks made payable to other individuals, numerous electronic devices containing records of class action claims, digitally altered documents with false identities and computer folders labeled “ready for claims” containing files for various class action lawsuits.
Digennaro made his initial appearance before U.S. District Judge Mark W. Pedersen and was released under court-imposed conditions pending further proceedings.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan K. McGuire and Melanie Bailey following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. Digennaro is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
