Prison Sentence for Former Transportation Supervisor of Dunkirk Company

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Willie S. Pullins, 28, of North East, Pennsylvania, who pleaded guilty to mail fraud, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Judge William M. Skretny to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $189,000 to his former employer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Campana, who handled the case, stated that Pullins was an employee of Shaant Industries, Inc., d/b/a Ultrapak, located in Dunkirk, New York, from 2002 until August 2009. Ultrapak produces specialized packaging products for businesses and ships its products to customers throughout the United States. As shipping supervisor, Pullins was responsible for arranging the transportation of the company's products. The defendant admitted to setting up and operating Sundown Enterprises, a transportation brokerage company, in October 2006, without telling Ultrapak. Pullins then billed Ultrapak for transportation of products by Sundown. Pullins could have arranged directly for Ultrapak to pay the same rates shippers charged Sundown but instead billed the company for higher amounts. As a result, Ultrapak overpaid for transportation costs by $194,000 between October 2006 and July 2009. Ultrapak dismissed Pullins in August 2009. Prior to sentencing, Pullins paid back approximately $5,000.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James H. Robertson.