Home Albany Press Releases 2009 Williston Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Jail For Wire Fraud, Tax Evasion, and Money Laundering
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Williston Man Sentenced to 70 Months in Jail For Wire Fraud, Tax Evasion, and Money Laundering

U.S. Attorney's Office March 10, 2009
  • District of Vermont (802) 951-6725

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated Kenneth MacKay, 37, of Williston, was sentenced today in United States District Court by Chief Judge William K. Sessions III to 70 months in jail for wire fraud, tax evasion and money laundering in connection with a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme.

Judge Sessions also sentenced MacKay to three years supervised release following his incarceration and ordered restitution to MacKay's employer for over $5.3 million.

MacKay was ordered to report to serve his sentence in 60 days.

Beginning in or about 2000 and continuing until in or about February 2008, MacKay devised a scheme to defraud his employer, Willis Management (Vermont) Ltd., and its clients and affiliated companies by embezzling in excess of $5 million and using this money for his own personal benefit and the benefit of his family, to include, among other things, the building of a mansion valued at $1,900,000, chartering private jets for family vacations and other personal travel, paying state and local taxes, paying for country club memberships, and paying for other personal and household expenses.

Between 2002 and 2007, MacKay willfully evaded paying over $1.2 million in income taxes to the United States, and he illegally engaged in numerous monetary transactions in criminally derived property using accounts he fraudulently opened at the Chittenden Bank as part of his scheme to defraud Willis.

The Court previously ordered MacKay to forfeit $4,000,000, his interest in the Williston residence, a condominium in Orlando, Florida (valued at approximately $235,000), and approximately $240,000 seized from five 529 Qualified Tuition Plans that MacKay opened for his children and funded with some money obtained through his frauds.

Willis Management (Vermont) Ltd. is a Vermont corporation engaged in the business of managing captive insurance companies. It is a subsidiary of Willis North America ("WNA"), which in turn is a subsidiary of Willis Group Holding Ltd. ("Willis"), a publicly traded corporation headquartered in New York City. Vermont's captive insurance industry is regulated by the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities & Health Care Administration (BISHCA), which was also notified by Willis of MacKay's fraudulent activities and engaged in its own separate regulatory review.

Acting United States Attorney Paul J. Van de Graaf praised the work of the FBI and the IRS, which quickly unraveled a complex fraud scheme, arrested MacKay, and seized assets obtained by MacKay through his fraud. Acting U.S. Attorney Van de Graaf also commended Willis and the Chittenden Bank for their ongoing cooperation in the investigation. MacKay is represented by Burlington attorney John Pacht.

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