Three Bakersfield Residents Charged in a Scheme to Defraud Bakersfield Pipe & Supply Inc.

FRESNO, Calif. — Bakersfield residents Lynnsi Marguerite Dunbar, 29; and Daniel Harte, 50, were arrested today after a federal grand jury returned a multicount indictment, charging them with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and other charges related to a scheme to defraud Bakersfield Pipe and Supply Inc., (BPS), Acting United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. Lynnsi Dunbar’s husband Kye Aaron Dunbar, 30; is also charged in the scheme, and is already in custody on an unrelated charge.

According to court documents, between March 17, 2014, and October 22, 2014, the three defendants conspired together to defraud BPS, which is headquartered in Bakersfield, by creating false invoices for payment. Lynnsi Dunbar was an employee of BPS who, with the help of Kye Dunbar and Harte, created a fictitious trucking company in the name of Harte Trucking. Harte Trucking existed in name only and was created by the defendants for the sole purpose of submitting fraudulent invoices to BPS for payment for services never performed. As a result of this conspiracy, the defendants were able to defraud BPS out of $287,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Brian K. Delaney is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.