2024-10-10 DOJ SDNY press_release 116 KB 3,591 chars

Controller Of Family-Owned Businesses Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $3.4 Million

Caption: United States v. John Hickey

summary

John Hickey, former controller of a family-owned business, embezzled $3.4 million via false invoices and forged checks, and pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

paragraph

John Hickey, the former controller and Director of Quality Assurance for a family-owned flame retardant fabric manufacturer, embezzled $3,461,292.69 between 2018 and 2023. He created false invoices, forged signatures, and altered checks to divert company funds for personal use. Hickey pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

narrative

John Hickey, the former controller and Director of Quality Assurance for a family-owned business in Armonk, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud for embezzling $3,461,292.69 from the business between February 2018 and November 2023. Hickey, who was also a member of the family that owned the business and held a minority ownership interest, exploited his position of trust by creating false invoices that appeared to be from entities with which the business did business. He then forged signatures to approve these invoices and caused the company's accounting system to print checks payable to him, which he altered to match the name on the false invoices. Hickey used a rubber signature stamp to sign the checks. The embezzled funds were used for personal expenses such as gambling on sporting events, attending concerts and sporting events, improving and repairing his home, and going on vacations. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York prosecuted the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney James McMahon leading the effort. Hickey faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for his conviction.

Enriched metadata

Scheme: corporate-fraud (100%)
Court: Southern District of New York
Outcome: pleaded
Victim loss: $3,400,000

Classified corporate-fraud(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms 10-K/10-Q/8-K· recall 56% / precision 8%. detection rule →

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 3

$3.46M $3,461,292 $1M–$10M
$3.40M $3.4 Million $1M–$10M
$3.40M $3.4 million $1M–$10M

Entities 2

person john hickey
scheme_term to one count of wire fraud

Triples 14

John Hickey Pled Guilty To Embezzling $3.4 Million
John Hickey Embezzled $3,461,292.69 From The Victim Corporations
John Hickey Created False Invoices That Appeared To Be From Entities With Which The Victim Corporations Did Business
John Hickey Forged Signatures That Supposedly Approved Payment Of Those Invoices
John Hickey Caused The Victims' Accounting System To Print Checks Payable To Him In The Amount Of The Invoices
John Hickey Changed The Payee On The Check To Match The Name On The Corresponding False Invoice
John Hickey Used A Rubber Signature Stamp To Sign The Checks
John Hickey Used The Proceeds Of The Above Scheme To Gamble On Sporting Events, To Attend Concerts And Sporting Events, To Improve And Repair His Home And To Go On Vacations
John Hickey Pleaded Guilty To One Count Of Wire Fraud
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams Announced That John Hickey Pled Guilty To One Count Of Wire Fraud In Connection With His Embezzlement Of More Than $3.4 Million From The Business
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams Said “John Hickey Embezzled Over $3.4 Million From A Family-Owned Business, Exploiting His Position Of Trust For Personal Gain. Today’s Guilty Plea Holds Hickey Accountable For His Illegal Conduct And Demonstrates Our Unwavering Commitment To Pursuing Justice For Victims Of Fraud.”
Mr. Williams Praised The Outstanding Investigative Work Of The Special Agents Of The United States Attorney's Office For The Southern District Of New York
The Case Is Being Handled By The Office’s White Plains Division
Assistant United States Attorney James McMahon Is In Charge Of The Prosecution

View original DOJ press releasejustice.gov

Extracted body text (3,591c)

Press Release Controller Of Family-Owned Businesses Pleads Guilty To Embezzling $3.4 Million Thursday, October 10, 2024 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JOHN HICKEY, the former controller and Director of Quality Assurance for a family-owned business in Armonk, New York, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection with his embezzlement of more than $3.4 million from the business. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “John Hickey embezzled over $3.4 million from a family-owned business, exploiting his position of trust for personal gain. Today’s guilty plea holds Hickey accountable for his illegal conduct and demonstrates our unwavering commitment to pursuing justice for victims of fraud.”According to the allegations contained in the Information:[1] HICKEY was a member of the family that owned the group of victim corporations and held minority ownership interest in some of the corporations. The victim corporations manufactured flame retardant fabrics. HICKEY began to work at the victim corporations while he was in college and became the Director of Quality Assurance in or about 2012. HICKEY also served as the controller of some of the victim corporations.From February 2018 to November 2023, HICKEY embezzled $3,461,292.69 from the victim corporations. He created false invoices that appeared to be from entities with which the vctim corporations did business. He then forged signatures that supposedly approved payment of those invoices and caused the victims' accounting system to print checks payable to him in the amount of the invoices. Once a check was printed, HICKEY changed the payee on the check to match the name on the corresponding false invoice. He used a rubber signature stamp to sign the checks. HICKEY used the proceeds of the above scheme to gamble on sporting events, to attend concerts and sporting events, to improve and repair his home and to go on vacations.* * *HICKEY, 34, of Feasterville-Trevose, PA, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of twenty years in prison. The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as the sentence will be determined by the court.Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorney James McMahon is in charge of the prosecution.[1]As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Information, and the description of the Information set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation. Updated October 10, 2024 Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 24-316

OCR text (3,591c · html-text · 99% conf)