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Press Release

California Man Charged in 16-Year Fraud Scheme

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – A California man has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling over $1.2 million from his employer over a 16-year period.

Darrell Pike, 56, of Hesperia, Calif., was charged and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud. Pike will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date for a plea hearing that has not yet been scheduled by the Court.

According to the charging document, Pike was the general manager of an Ontario, Calif. subsidiary of a supply and service company based in Wilmington, Mass. From in or about 2005 to 2021, Pike allegedly prepared and submitted fraudulent invoices to his employer on behalf of a fake temporary staffing company, Consumer Information Systems (CIS), for staffing services CIS purportedly provided at his employer’s Ontario location. It is further alleged that Pike added approving initials of company personnel to the invoices without their knowledge or consent. Through the fraudulent invoices, Pike allegedly caused the company to pay approximately $1,271,206 to CIS, which he deposited into a bank account he controlled.

The charge of mail fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil of Rollins’ Securities & Financial Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations.  The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Updated May 2, 2022

Topic
Financial Fraud