Glendale Man Sentenced to Prison for Embezzlement

      PHOENIX – Yesterday, Senior U.S. District Judge James A. Teilborg sentenced David Dwight Reynolds, 30, of Glendale, Ariz., to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release.  The Court also ordered him to pay nearly $2.2 million in restitution. Reynolds had previously pleaded guilty to embezzlement.

     Evidence showed that between 2013 and 2016, Reynolds in his capacity as an Information Technology (IT) network engineer for Swift Transportation Company used his position to embezzle millions of dollars. Reynolds did so by using a corporate credit card to make fraudulent purchases. Reynolds altered invoices to conceal his fraudulent purchases. Reynolds purchased IT equipment for personal use and had it shipped to his office at Swift. Eventually, Reynolds began purchasing personal items like cellphones, office furniture, televisions, cameras, computers, welding and manufacturing equipment, and gun accessories. Reynolds then had items shipped to his home. Reynolds also set up a shell company to fraudulently have payments made to the company. He had a debit card attached to the account and used the fraudulently diverted money to pay his personal credit card bills, his wife’s tuition, among other personal and family expenses. In total, Reynolds embezzled nearly $2.2 million. In addition, he failed to report the embezzled money on his taxes. Based upon unreported taxable income, he owed an income tax in the amount of $355,720.

     “The defendant breached his position of trust to illicitly enrich himself and his family,” stated First Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Strange.  “Embezzlement may be a more refined way of stealing, but it is still stealing and a serious crime that our office will vigorously prosecute.  We applaud the efforts of the IRS-Criminal Investigation and FBI in bringing this defendant to justice.”

     “Reynolds orchestrated a sophisticated scheme to embezzle over $2 million from his employer then took steps to conceal his theft,” stated IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Ismael Nevarez Jr. “We hope this investigation is a wake-up call to all businesses, whether large or small, to be sure they have precautions in place to prevent this from happening to them."

     Corporate embezzlement causes serious harm to businesses, investors, and the overall economy.  The FBI will continue to investigate and work with the United States Attorney's Office to prosecute those who steal or divert funds from their intended use," said Michael DeLeon, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Phoenix Field Office.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The prosecution was handled by Kevin M. Rapp Assistant United States Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:                      CR-17-00764- JAT-PHX           

RELEASE NUMBER:              2018-078_ Reynolds

# # #

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.