Throughout her journey as “The Golden Bachelorette,” Joan Vassos has talked lovingly about her former husband, John Vassos. What she has not talked about on-screen involves legal issues he faced up until his death.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in February 2020, he entered a guilty plea to the charges he faced in June 2017. He was awaiting sentencing at the time of the DOJ press release.
He died on January 18, 2021, after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, his obituary stated.
John Vassos Pleaded Guilty to 3 Fraud Charges
According to the February 2020 DOJ press release, John Vassos pleaded guilty to three charges. The charges included one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of tax fraud, and one count of mail fraud, the DOJ announcement indicated.
The DOJ press release reported that John Vassos worked as a consultant for Sharp Business Systems (SBS) when the company bid on a contract for the Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts. The contract was for services to maintain copy machines throughout the Maryland court system.
All bids required a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) do at least 20% of the work contracted, the DOJ release detailed. SBS submitted a bid and indicated the MBE they would use was Forney Enterprises, Inc. (FEI), owned by Keith Forney.
SBS was awarded the contract in 2009 and it was renewed in 2010 and 2011, according to the DOJ release.
The DOJ indicated in their press release that per the statement of offense generated, FEI never did any of the contracted work.
However, FEI regularly submitted invoices for the work to SBS, and Forney indicated to the MBE compliance manager the company was doing the contracted work, the DOJ release stated.
The DOJ release reported that Sharp Electronics, which owned SBS, paid FEI $400,000 for the work invoiced. The DOJ press release also indicated that then, Forney gave John Vassos the full $400,000 that FEI had been paid.
He Wasn’t the Only Person Charged in the Matter
A September 2017 DOJ press release indicated that Forney and his business partner James Redding received approximately $2 million from Vassos in May 2010. Forney and his partner used the money to buy what became Stadium Club, a strip club.
The DOJ press release also indicated, “Additionally, from 2011 until 2014, Vassos loaned hundreds of thousands of dollars to Forney and his partner.”
Both Redding and Forney faced legal charges in connection with the various transactions.
An August 2019 DOJ press release reported that Redding pleaded guilty in May 2015 to charges of failure to pay payroll taxes and tax evasion. The DOJ release indicated that Redding received a 24-month prison sentence.
In January 2020, a DOJ press release reported that Forney pleaded guilty to tax fraud, money laundering, and mail fraud connected to the FEI and SBS contracts. The DOJ indicated that Forney received an 18-month prison sentence.
At the time of his death, John Vassos was the president of CapX Solutions LLC, his website noted.
After college, the website noted, Vassos took over the family business, BCE Corporation. In 2011, he sold the business to Sharp Electronics.
Vassos found retirement “wasn’t for him,” his website stated. He then created CapX Solutions LLC. Both businesses focused on office equipment sales and services.
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