Man pleads guilty to bombs in Carolina Beach Rd. storage unit

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty today in federal court to several crimes, including some connected to the discovery of explosives in a New Hanover County storage unit in February 2013.

Among his crimes, Istvan A. Merchenthaler, 44, pleaded guilty to two counts of being a fugitive in possession of firearms and ammunition and one count of possession of an unregistered destructive device. Those counts all came from a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina. Prosecutors Merchenthaler had approximately 39 IEDs, a firearm and 580 rounds of ammunition in the Wilmington area. They were among hundreds of IEDs and thousands of rounds of ammunition prosecutors say Merchanthaler had in North Carolina, Maryland and Pennsylvania, where he entered his plea this morning.

The US Attorney’s Office says from about May 2006 to February 2013, Istvan A. Merchenthaler, 44, claimed to be the founder of PhoneCard USA, which claimed to distribute prepaid phone cards and cell phones. But prosecutors say he was actually running a Ponzi scheme in which he stole more than $2 million from more than 200 investors. In his scheme, Merchenthaler falsely claimed that PhoneCard USA had “lucrative contracts” with major retail chains and claimed to have friendships with executives at Walmart and 7-Eleven and used their names in a fraudulent e-mail address and bogus contracts.

Merchenthaler, of Downingtown, PA, has been in federal custody since Feb. 16, 2013. A sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled for January.

At sentencing, Merchnthaler faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison with a maximum possible statutory sentence of 230 years, a three year period of supervised release, a fine of up to $5.5 million fine, and a $2,200 special assessment. Restitution and forfeiture may also be ordered.