Former Pinnacle Airlines Employee Sentenced for $1.1 Million Fraud Scheme

MEMPHIS—Frank Richard Raasch, age 38, of San Diego, California, formerly of Memphis, was sentenced by United States District Judge Samuel Hardy Mays to 41 months’ imprisonment for wire fraud in violation of Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1343, announced United States Attorney Edward L. Stanton, III; Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Memphis Division, Aaron T. Ford; and Keith Morris, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Raasch, the former director of Information Technology, Major Projects, and Transition at Pinnacle Airlines and its predecessor Mesaba Airlines, pleaded guilty in March to one count of wire fraud arising from a scheme to defraud Pinnacle and Mesaba of approximately $1.1 million between 2007 and November 2011. According to the criminal information, Raasch submitted fraudulent invoices in the name of a fictitious company, Friday Consulting Group, which Raasch controlled. Once the invoices were approved, Pinnacle issued checks for payment and Raasch deposited the checks to bank accounts he controlled and withdrew the funds. Raasch was also ordered to pay restitution to Pinnacle and Chubb Insurance Group in the total amount of $1,100,384.

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting white-collar crime such as wire fraud,” stated United States Attorney Edward L. Stanton, III. “When employees put into motion fraudulent schemes to illegally divert funds and place those funds in accounts for their own selfish gain, our office will make sure that these individuals are held accountable for their actions and vigorously prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Carroll L. Andre, III, on behalf of the government.