A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in a scheme that defrauded a business of more than $2.5 million. Dominick N. Donofrio, 73, formerly of Middlefield, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport.
Donofrio was the president and owner of Windstar Financial Services, Inc., based in Madison, Connecticut. In January 2013, Randall Robert Binversie Holdings (Binversie), a Wisconsin-based company interested in acquiring a renewable fuel business, hired Donofrio for consulting services.
According to court documents and statements made during the hearing, Donofrio told Binversie about an opportunity to purchase Tioga Fuel—a home heating oil company in Philadelphia—and its associated properties. He convinced Binversie that the purchase price was $2,050,567 when he had actually inflated the price by about $1.3 million.
Donofrio admitted that his actions led to losses exceeding $2.5 million for Binversie. The loss included the difference between the actual and inflated prices for Tioga properties; over $987,000 in fraudulent fees billed as consulting, negotiation, and legal expenses; around $87,000 taken from Tioga Fuel’s account during acquisition; and roughly $136,000 obtained from Binversie as interest payments on a fictitious loan.
A federal grand jury indicted Donofrio on July 30, 2019, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He remained a fugitive until his arrest on July 24, 2024 in Mystic, Connecticut. After failing to appear at a pretrial conference on July 22, 2025 in Philadelphia and being arrested again on December 3, 2025, he has been detained since then.
The case was transferred to the District of Connecticut for prosecution. Sentencing is scheduled for April 29; Donofrio faces up to 20 years in prison.
“This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” according to authorities involved with the case. “The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan Francis of the District of Connecticut and Anita Eve of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”
