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Former Elkhart Police Department officer convicted of wire fraud, will be sentenced in December

(loveamourlove.com)

A former Elkhart police officer has been convicted in a federal wire fraud trial and will be sentenced this December.

In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the northern district of Indiana says a jury found 32-year-old Goshen resident Junaid Gulzar guilty of three counts of wire fraud following a 3-day trial.

The release says Gulznar defrauded investors by offering an investment opportunity in gas stations in Goshen and Plymouth, promising a high rate of return and monthly payments.

But the release says no payments were made to investors from the Goshen gas station and the gas station in Plymouth was never purchased. Instead, Gulznar personally received at least $210,000 and spent some of the money at a casino.

The South Bend Tribune reports Gulznar joined the Elkhart Police Department in 2018 and had been on paid leave since July 2020 pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.

Gulznar was then placed on unpaid leave in March of this year after being indicted on criminal charges, and he resigned from the department on June 27.

Gulznar’s sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 14.

The Elkhart Police Department is a financial supporter of WVPE.

Contact Jakob at jlazzaro@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @JakobLazzaro.

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Jakob Lazzaro came to Indiana from Chicago, where he graduated from Northwestern University in 2020 with a degree in Journalism and a double major in History. Before joining WVPE, he wrote NPR's Source of the Week e-mail newsletter, and previously worked for CalMatters, Pittsburgh's 90.5 WESA and North by Northwestern.