FORT WAYNE – Fredrick D. McCracken, 62, of Converse, was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Holly A. Brady for wire fraud and making a false statement on an income tax return, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
McCracken was sentenced to 46 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution to his former employer and the IRS.
According to documents in this case, McCracken worked as an accountant for an industrial construction company located in Marion. Because of his role as the accountant for the business, McCracken had access to the company’s bank accounts.
From October 2012 through July 2018, McCracken wrote over 100 unauthorized checks drawn on the company’s business account and made payable to his personal business.
From March 2016 through July 2018, McCracken used the company’s bank accounts to pay his personal credit card obligations more than 50 times.
To avoid detection, McCracken concealed his activities in the company’s accounting records system. In total, his fraud scheme resulted in the theft of $2,440,490.46 from his employer. McCracken also failed to report it as income on his personal tax returns the funds that he stole, causing a $612,500.00 tax loss to the Internal Revenue Service.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah E. Nokes.
