Former Freightliner Employee Sentenced to Federal Prison Restitution Ordered to be Paid to Daimler Trucks North America LLC

PORTLAND, OR—Sabina Vieru, 40, Boring, Oregon, was sentenced to serve four years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown for wire fraud. The court also ordered Vieru to pay $7,075,781.49 restitution to the victim, Daimler Trucks North America LLC, formerly Freightliner LLC, of Portland, Oregon.

Freightliner LLC manufactured, sold, and serviced commercial vehicles and commercial vehicle components. Between March 2003 and March 2005, while serving as a Freightliner Export Credit Accounts specialist, Vieru devised a sophisticated scheme to defraud the company.

Vieru’s fraudulent scheme cleared more than $6.7 million of overdue invoices from Freightliner customer accounts over a two year period. In turn, Vieru received wire transfers of over $3 million to a U.S. Bank account under her sole control and not associated with Freightliner in any way. Vieru used most of the funds to purchase property in Oregon and Washington, and to invest in a condominium project on the Black Sea in Romania.

Vieru was instructed to report to the Bureau of Prisons on March 4, 2010. Upon her release from prison Vieru will be on supervised release for a period of three years.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Portland, Oregon and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Claire M. Fay.