FraudBaron.com

bostonherald.com | 1/30/08 |  Associated Press

A former vice president of Staples Inc. was sentenced Monday to 3½ years in prison for embezzling nearly $600,000 from the office products company.

James Dorman, formerly of Westborough, will also have to pay $585,000 in restitution to Staples.

The former marketing executive pleaded guilty to mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering charges for submitting invoices for nonexistent vendors and misusing corporate travel funds to pay for personal travel for himself and three women.

Prosecutors said Dorman met two of the women while they were working at strip clubs in Dallas and used his corporate American Express card to buy them diamond jewelry and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Dorman, 40, was fired from Staples in 2005 after the company became aware of the embezzlement.

Posted by at 11:30 AM | Permalink

record-eagle.com |  1/30/08 | SHERI McWHIRTER

GAYLORD -- A Gaylord woman faces felony embezzlement and forgery charges for  allegedly stealing at least $150,000 from a Gaylord builders and contractors group.

Linda Wiseley, 56, was arraigned this month in 87th District Court and released on a personal recognizance bond. Her arrest follows the Gaylord Police Department's  nvestigation into alleged thefts from the northern Michigan chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan.

Wisely earned $28,000 plus benefits annually as the Gaylord chapter's executive director. "Most of it was overpaying herself in wages and buying personal items on a company credit card," said Gaylord Police Chief Joe FitzGerald. "She's been doing it for 10 years, off and on."  Authorities do not yet know exactly how much money is missing, but do know it's more than $150,000, FitzGerald said.

"It was a trusted employee who took advantage of that trust over a number of years," said Otsego County Prosecutor Kyle Legel. Legel wants to look at possible restitution in the case, he said.

Gaylord attorney Elliot Blumberg represents Wiseley and intends to contest the amount of money that allegedly was taken, he said. Police said money began vainshing in 1996 and continued until December 2006, when the agency closed its doors in Gaylord.

"It's discouraging to no longer have that here in Gaylord," said Chuck Klee, a Gaylord electrical contractor and former president of the agency's local board. "And I'm real disappointed in her. I've known her for 25 years."

The group formerly operated out of an office in downtown Gaylord and was an affiliated branch of the Associated of Builders and Contractors of Michigan. That group supports merit-based construction contracts, offers informational sessions and offers health and workers' compensation insurance to members.

Wiseley is set for a pre-trial hearing on Thursday in Gaylord. A preliminary examination will follow on Feb. 7.

Posted by at 11:26 AM | Permalink

newsok.com | 1/29/08 | Ann Kelley

A former manager of a Midwest City hearing aid business is accused of embezzling nearly $196,000 and gambling the money in casinos.

Richard Bart Steen, 43, of Bethany, was charged with five felony counts of embezzlement Monday in Oklahoma County District Court. Steen is accused of persuading customers of Economy Hearing Aid Center, 6803 E Reno Ave., to either leave their checks blank or make them out to him.  Steen cashed the checks at his customers' banks and spent the cash at casinos, Midwest City Police Detective Wade Ramsey alleged in a court affidavit. 

Business owner John Bachman contacted police when a customer complained that he was having difficulty obtaining a refund. Cooper had a receipt, but there was no record of his purchase in the shop's bank transactions.  Bachman told police an audit revealed that $195,929 had been stolen between April 2006 and November 2007. Steen is thought to have cashed 58 checks from customers, court records state.

Posted by at 11:23 AM | Permalink

webcpa.com | 1/29/08 | Staff Writer

Washington, D.C. - Three defendants, including two CPAs, whose trial was scheduled to begin in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, have pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States, said the Justice Department.

CPAs Stephen F. Petersen of Coalville, Utah, and Reed H. Barker of Littleton, Colo., pleaded guilty to the tax fraud on Jan. 18, 2008. Petersen also pleaded guilty to aiding in the preparation of a false tax return on behalf of a client. Attorney Graham R. Taylor, of Tiburon, Calif., also entered a guilty plea to tax fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell. The three defendants, along with attorney Dennis B. Evanson of Sandy, Utah, accountant Brent H. Metcalf of Cottonwood, Utah, and investment broker Wayne F. DeMeester of Sammamish, Wash., were indicted in November 2005 for conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. Five of the defendants were also charged with tax evasion and assisting in the filing of false tax returns. 

According to the indictment, the tax fraud scheme cost the federal treasury over $20 million in taxes In court, Petersen and Barker admitted that from 1996 through April 2005, they conspired with Dennis Evanson and others to conceal portions of their clients' income from the IRS and to create false deductions for the purpose of reducing the income tax paid by clients. The defendants admitted that they knew the deductions on the tax returns were false and fraudulent.

Petersen also admitted that he and Evanson were paid a fee for their services that was typically equal to 30 percent of the tax evaded by the clients. According to the indictment, Evanson and Petersen together collected over $4 million in fees related to the scheme. Petersen admitted to receiving more than $1 million in fees. The terms of his plea agreement require that Petersen forfeit $1 million in money and real property. Taylor admitted in his plea that he devised, marketed and implemented the tax shelter, known as "The Hybrid," for the purpose of assisting others to evade income taxes. Taylor also admitted that he prepared tax opinion letters containing fraudulent misrepresentations.

Taylor further admitted to using individuals in the Cayman Islands to act as nominees for clients, and falsely disguised client monies through fraudulent transfers. Trial of the remaining co-defendants - Evanson, Metcalf and DeMeester - is scheduled to begin on Jan. 28, 2008, in the District Court in Salt Lake City.

Posted by at 11:14 AM | Permalink

deseretnews.com | 1/29/08 | Staff Writer

The federal trial for two former Davis County School District officials accused of bilking the district out of $4.3 million in federal education funds has been delayed until April.

John and Susan Ross, who were indicted by a federal grand jury, were scheduled to stand trial in February. However, a federal judge has granted a defense motion to have the trial begin on April 7 to give defense attorneys time to work on the case.

According to charges, Susan Ross supplied the Davis County School District with illegally photocopied versions of books at inflated prices through a company she owned. The money was paid through the district's federal Title I program for disadvantaged students, of which she was in charge.

Her husband, John Ross, was her direct supervisor at the time. Prosecutors say the scheme ran for several years. In October, a former secretary of Susan Ross pleaded guilty in federal court of running her own fraud scheme. Stella Smith admitted defrauding the district out of $333,133 when she billed the district for textbooks it never received between 1993 and 2005. Smith is expected to be sentenced on Feb. 12.

Posted by at 11:12 AM | Permalink

chicagotribune.com | 1/28/08 | Angela Rozas and Robert Manor

Chicago police said Monday they are investigating dozens of complaints against a realty company in the city over the possible loss of millions of dollars belonging to condominium associations.

Since Friday, police have received about 30 complaints regarding Regent Realty Group Inc., which oversees more than 40 condo associations in the city, said Sgt. Phil Cappitelli of the financial crimes unit. Three residents told the Tribune they filed complaints against the company after learning that Regent Realty had not been paying bills at their buildings for months and that checks the associations wrote to vendors had bounced.

Two associations said they tried to fire Regent Realty and move their accounts to new management companies but were told they had little money left. Regent Realty, meanwhile, is temporarily closed, according to a sign on its door. Strauss is the principal of Regent, which he and a partner founded in 1988, according to the company's Web site. Lawyer Camille Conway said Monday that he has just been hired to represent Strauss and could not comment about Regent's status.

Posted by at 11:04 AM | Permalink

sundaygazettemail.com | 1/29/08 | Staff Writer

HUNTINGTON - A former branch manager at Star USA Federal Credit Union pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to embezzling more than $81,000 from the credit union. 

 Susan Kelly, 58, of Barboursville worked at the credit union, formerly known as the Huntington Veterans Affairs Credit Union, from 1998 to 2006, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. She faces up to 30 years in prison, supervised release of five years, a fine of $1 million and restitution when she is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers on April 28.

Posted by at 10:50 AM | Permalink

kansascity.com | 1/28/08 | Mark Morris

A former congressman accused of laundering stolen U.S. government money from an Islamic charity pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court. Mark D. Siljander said little during his brief hearing before a U.S. magistrate judge and afterward deferred comment to his lawyer, who said his client “vehemently denies the allegations in the indictment.”

Defense lawyer J.R. Hobbs said his client’s work to bridge the gap between Christians and Muslims has been mischaracterized. “Mr. Siljander has dedicated the last 12 years to research, travel and relationship building in an attempt to empower peaceful Muslims and defuse the radical sects of the faith,” Hobbs said.

A grand jury indicted Siljander earlier this month, accusing him of accepting almost $50,000 in lobbying fees from the Islamic American Relief Agency of Columbia. That money, according to prosecutors, was taken from a U.S. government grant for international relief.

Siljander has said he received that money as support for a book on Muslim-Christian relations, which is scheduled for publication in June. Siljander, a Republican, represented Michigan in Congress from 1981 to 1987. Now, he operates a public relations and consulting firm.

In a portion of the indictment unrelated to Siljander, prosecutors accused the charity and some of its officers of sending money to benefit an Afghan warlord, whom U.S. authorities have designated a terrorist. At the hearing Monday, Hobbs said he would consider asking that Siljander’s case be separated from those of the charity and its officers so he could go to trial sooner. The trial for all defendants currently is scheduled for November.

Posted by at 10:42 AM | Permalink