Oklahomans who are confronted with white collar crimes should understand their severity. These types of crimes can involve embezzlement, illegal stock trades, Ponzi schemes, identity theft, fraud and more. In one recent case, a former president of a company that sold diabetes test kits issued a guilty plea.
In the case, the 50-year-old man was accused of embezzlement of nearly $764,000. He was also alleged to have evaded taxes. He pleaded guilty to tax evasion and wire fraud, which were linked to the embezzlement. It began in 2013 and continued through 2017. He was said to have requested reimbursement from the company controller for supplies and travel. However, he created receipts that were fraudulent to receive the money.
To cover for what he was doing, he shopped online for diabetes tests. He also shopped for plane tickets. As part of the strategy to be reimbursed, he placed the items in an online shopping cart and printed the receipt, but never bought them. He also had fraudulent credit card receipts. For the supplies, he received more than $484,300 in reimbursements without buying anything. He would place flights in his shopping cart, but never buy them either. For flights and conferences, he received more than $300,000 in reimbursements.
To hide his actions, the money was placed on a prepaid debit card, cashed at check-cashing operations or banks. He then used the money to gamble. The potential penalties include hefty fines and significant time in prison. White collar crimes may not sound as serious as armed robbery or violence, but the consequences can be harsh. For people who have been confronted with allegations of having embezzled money, committed fraud and other violations, legal advice from a law firm experienced in white-collar defense may be able to help.