Former Finance Executive of New Jersey Company Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Embezzling More Than $1.3 Million

CAMDEN—The former controller of an environmental and industrial services firm based in Swedesboro, New Jersey, was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for defrauding his former employer by improperly diverting funds and taking more than $1.3 million from the company, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Rusty Spickenreuther, 46, of Franklinville, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty to an information charging him with one count of wire fraud, one count of money laundering, and one count of tax fraud. He entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez, who also imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Spickenreuther admitted that between June 2009 and June 2011, he embezzled from his former employer, Environmental Industrial Services Corporation of New Jersey, by stealing more than 50 checks payable to the company and diverting the funds to bank accounts he controlled. Spickenreuther deposited the checks—which ranged from $255 to more than $88,000—into a bank account he set up in the name of EISCO, an acronym that is regularly used to refer to the company. Spickenreuther, who had access to the company’s financial books and records in order to perform his duties as the controller, used that access to conceal the theft. Once in possession of the stolen funds, Spickenreuther wire transferred large sums of money among various bank and brokerage accounts, ultimately using much of the stolen money to day trade in stocks from a brokerage account he controlled.

For the 2009 and 2011 tax years, Spickenreuther did not disclose to the IRS the income that he received in connection with the fraudulent scheme. Spickenreuther failed to disclose in excess of $760,000, resulting in a tax loss to the United States of $258,712.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Rodriguez sentenced Spickenreuther to serve three years of supervised release. Judge Rodriguez also ordered Spickenreuther to pay $1,304,472 in restitution to the company and forfeit $289,576.59 previously seized by the United States from several bank and brokerage accounts controlled by Spickenreuther. During the period of supervised release, Spickenreuther is prohibited from working in the accounting field, as a controller, or in a job where he has oversight of the disbursement or transmission of money.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI South Jersey Resident Agency in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George C. Venizelos; and IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge JoAnn S. Zuniga, for the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Smith of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Camden.