CHICAGO―Joseph Tagler, 30, of Oak Lawn, was sentenced today to three years in federal prison for defrauding his former employer, Eagle Market Makers, Inc., out of more than $1 million. Tagler was a back office manager and a member of the board of directors of Eagle Market Makers, which services professional traders primarily trading futures contracts in Chicago. Between January 2012 and January 2014, Tagler misappropriated approximately $1.1 million of the company’s funds for his own personal benefit by forging signatures on checks that were due to the principals of the company and concealing his theft on the company’s books and records.

Tagler was arrested by the FBI in April 2014, and he pleaded guilty last August to one count of wire fraud. U.S. District Judge James Zagel imposed the sentence today and ordered Tagler to begin serving his prison term on April 7, followed by two years of court supervision after he is released from custody. Judge Zagel also ordered Tagler to pay $1,176,355 in restitution. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sunil Harjani. The sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.