Brookings Man Sentenced to Prison and Over $5 Million in Victim Reimbursement

SIOUX FALLS, SD—U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Brookings man charged with mail fraud was sentenced on April 1, 2011, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange. David Beulke, age 63, was sentenced to 51 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $5,610,563 in restitution.

The court ordered Beulke’s attorney to remit over $1,222,500 currently held on behalf of Beulke in an attorney trust account. The government previously had seized $2,479,690 from a variety of retirement and investment accounts. Together, the amounts represent over $3,700,000 which can be paid toward his restitution judgment.

From approximately February 1, 1993 through September 30, 2008, Beulke was employed by 3M Corporation as an engineer. He created shell companies and held them out to 3M as legitimate vendors of specialized parts. Beulke caused 3M to place orders for supposed parts from his shell companies, knowing that those orders were fraudulent. He kept the money 3M sent for the supposed parts for his own personal use. He initially deposited the money into various accounts, spent some on purchases and other personal expenses, and transferred a large amount of those funds into a variety of investment and retirement accounts. Through this scheme, Beulke unlawfully received approximately $5,610,563.

“This was a large-scale scheme that was highly orchestrated and went undetected for many years,” U.S. Attorney Johnson said. “I am encouraged by our ability to recover a large sum of the stolen money, and I'm grateful for the skilled efforts of the FBI and our office.”

Beulke waived indictment and was charged by information with mail fraud on November 29, 2010. Beulke pled guilty on December 10, 2010.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Koliner prosecuted the case. Beulke was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshal.