PROVIDENCE -- A federal grand jury has charged Rocco DeSimone, of Johnston, with conning an inventor and defrauding investors with fraudulent claims about marketing three inventions, It was announced today by U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente.

DeSimone, who is about to complete a federal prison term for tax fraud, escaped from a minimum security facility in New Jersey in March 2008 after he learned that federal agents had executed a search warrant at his Johnston home. He surrendered in Rhode Island three days later.

Corrente; Warren T. Bamford, special agent in charge of the FBI's Boston office; and Susan Dukes, special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service criminal investigation, announced a 10-count indictment charging DeSimone with mail fraud and money laundering. The indictment was returned on Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Providence.

According to the indictment, DeSimone's scheme involved the marketing of three inventions. One inventor developed the "Disk Shield" in 2006 as a protective shield for compact discs and DVDs. In 2005, another inventor, a physician, patented the "Drink Stik," designed to allow individuals wearing protective gear to drink fluids without first having to remove the protective gear. In 2006, the physician-inventor developed the "Song Tube," designed as an improved version of a gastrointestinal medical tube.

According to the indictment, DeSimone made false representations and pocketed millions of dollars.