Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing Over $750,000 from Non-Profit Trade Association

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Acting United States Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced today that James M. Pearson, 56, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty on June 22, 2009, to Wire Fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1343. Mr. Pearson faces a likely Sentencing Guideline range of between 27 and 33 months imprisonment when he is sentenced by the Honorable Paul Friedman on September 23, 2009.

Defendant admitted during the plea proceeding that while employed as the Office Services Supervisor for the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), a non-profit, member-supported trade association, he regularly placed orders to purchase unauthorized supplies on behalf of NEI from vendors through use of the telephone. These orders typically included electronics and computer products. When the supply orders were delivered to NEI, defendant removed the unauthorized purchases from the premises and sold them for his own personal gain. Defendant then altered the invoices submitted by the vendors to remove references to the unauthorized purchases and replaced those references with goods typically ordered by NEI. In this manner, defendant over a 10-year period caused a loss to NEI and its insurer totaling $764,846.

Acting United States Attorney Channing D. Phillips commended the excellent work of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force investigators in this case. He also commended Assistant United States Attorney Angela Schmidt for her work on the case.