ONLY ON 3: Fraud suspect accused of more scams

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A man accused of taking millions of dollars in relief funds after the gulf oil spill is also accused of pretending to be a certified public accountant in Wilmington. Michael Rosella is facing up to 90 years in prison for allegedly defrauding the BP oil spill relief fund of more than $2-million.

Federal investigators say that crime was committed back in 2010. In federal indictments the case against Michael Rosella is laid out. It shows Rosella allegedly acted as an attorney for a firm he created where he represented a bay side property in Louisiana called Barataria Bay. Rosella claimed they lost millions after the BP Oil Spill, authorities say the property never existed. A scam they say netted Rosella more than $2.3 million.

Julie Williams didn’t meet Rosella until 2014 after she got a call from a friend about a new accountant that the friend felt was up to no good.

“He had business cards sitting on his desk saying he was a certified public accountant. Which he claimed he was,” said Williams.

Records show he wasn’t and hasn’t been a licensed CPA since 1999.The The District Attorney’s office says Rosella also pretended to be a licensed CPA. That is a misdemeanor.

Williams says she was there when Rosella was arrested on that charge. She says impersonating an accountant is no laughing matter.

“I take our industry very seriously, and i don’t like people trying to impersonate this. I just hope that the truth comes out, and that legally he will be held accountable for his actions, and that he cannot do this again,” said Julie Williams, owner of a local accounting firm.

Rosella is also the president of Port City Accounting according to the company’s website. The business operates out of the Cotton Exchange in Downtown Wilmington. We went by to see if Rosella, who is out of jail on bond, was in the office today. A woman at the shopping center’s front desk would not let us in and asked us to leave.