Fishersville Man Sentenced for Credit Card Fraud
Joseph Champion to Serve 30 months for Defrauding Former Employer
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 13, 2010 |
HARRISONBURG, VA—A Fishersville, Virginia resident who stole nearly $1 million from his employer, was sentenced today on a variety of fraud charges in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
In July, Joseph Scott Champion, 42, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty to four counts of access device fraud related to his former employment as the director of purchasing for the Verona-based American Safety Razor company. This afternoon, he was sentenced to 30 months of incarceration. He was also ordered to repay $925,881.22 in restitution to his former employer.
“Mr. Champion abused the trust placed in him by his employer in order to enrich himself through a dishonest and manipulative scheme,” United States Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy said today. “The United States Attorney’s Office will continue to seek justice in financial fraud matters and help the victims of these schemes regain what was lost.”
Previously, Champion admitted that between October 2005, and June 2009, he defrauded the American Safety Razor company out of more than $925,881 by obtaining and using seven company-issued credit cards under various versions of his own name (e.g. J.S. Champion, Scott Champion, J. Scott Champion), without the knowledge or consent of his employer.
Champion used a corporate credit card purchasing program to open the credit card accounts, each with spending limits well above that of other company issued cards. Champion has admitted he would take cash advances on the fraudulent cards in amounts of up to $100,000. In all, the current balance owed on the aforementioned cards total approximately $925,881. The defendant said he has only paid back a small percentage of the card balances.
The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service. Assistant United States Attorney Ronald Huber is prosecuting the case for the United States.