Columbia Man Sentenced in $2.9 Million Fraud Case

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Jerry Francis Wells, Jr., age 48, of Columbia, was sentenced today in federal court as a result of charges brought against him for falsifying documents required to be filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. sentenced Wells to 78 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Wells will also be required to pay restitution in the amount of $2,967,355.

Wells’ crimes were discovered by the victim in December 2008, and he pleaded guilty on July 23, 2009. Facts during his plea hearing and sentencing showed that he was the former chief financial officer, executive vice-president of finance, and secretary of UCI Medical Affiliates, Inc., which manages Doctor’s Care and other medical facilities in South Carolina and Tennessee. From January 2003 through December 2008, Wells embezzled $2,967,382 from UCI by (1) using UCI’s corporate credit card to pay personal expenses; (2) preparing false expense reports and submitting them for reimbursement; and (3) submitting fraudulent check requests for non-business expenses, such as construction work on Wells’ personal residences and payments on personal credit card accounts.

UCI was a publicly traded company, and it was required to file periodic financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As the CFO, Wells was required to sign these filings on behalf of UCI. On each of eight reports that were submitted to the SEC, Wells falsely stated that he had disclosed to UCI “any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in [UCI’s] internal controls over financial reporting.” As a result of these false filings, Wells was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, eight counts of making false statements to a government agency, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.

After his guilty plea, Wells obtained a job working for another company. While working at this job, Wells stole an additional $40,000. As a result of this theft, Wells’ bond was revoked, and he was sent to jail pending his sentencing hearing. In addition, his new crimes were used as a basis to increase his sentence.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Dean A. Eichelberger of the Columbia office handled the case.