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Press Release

Fort Mill Resident Sentenced in Fraud Case

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

Contact Person: William Day (803) 929-3000

Columbia, South Carolina---- Acting United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Robert Eric Fockler, age 58, of Fort Mill, South Carolina was sentenced in federal court in Columbia, South Carolina, for wire fraud, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Curry sentenced Fockler to imprisonment for 37 months, 3 years supervised release, and ordered restitution of $263,457 be paid.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that from October 2008 to December 2013 Fockler defrauded Lexmark International, Inc.. While working at Lexmark as a customer service manager, Fockler created false invoices to make it appear the subcontractors had performed services for Lexmark. To hide the fact that Fockler was involved, he submitted the false invoices to a billing service operated by one of his friends who then submitted them to a corporation (Unigroup) that did business with Lexmark. Unigroup then submitted the invoices to Lexmark. Fockler also submitted false expense account claims to Lexmark for reimbursement by creating false hotel, restaurant, airline and other travel bills to falsely make it appear that he had incurred these expenses. Fockler’s fraudulent schemes caused Lexmark losses of more than $285,000.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day II of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.

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Updated November 18, 2016