Valparaiso Woman Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison

HAMMOND – Randi Scannell, 66 years old, of Valparaiso, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Jon E. DeGuilio after pleading guilty to wire fraud.

Scannell was sentenced to 10 months in prison followed by 1 year of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $460,182.69 in restitution.

According to documents in the case, Scannell was the owner of Custom Drying Solutions, a company that built and refurbished drum dryers.  In 2015, Custom Drying Solutions started managing Company A’s production facility in exchange for a fixed amount of money each week. Company A also agreed to reimburse Custom Drying Solutions for labor and payroll. Between September 2015 and August 2020, Scannell sent scores of fraudulent invoices to Company A for reimbursement of payroll expenses incurred by Custom Drying Solutions. These invoices concealed weekly paychecks that Scannell directed a third-party payroll service to issue to herself and her family members. By paying the invoices, Company A unwittingly funded unearned paychecks totaling $460,182.69 for Scannell and her family members.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven J. Lupa.