Sentencing is now set for February in a case that federal prosecutors allege a seven-year conspiracy to steal money from a drilling company located in Scott.
Two men have pleaded guilty in the case, which an indictment alleges stole more than $2.5 million from the drilling company. One, Donald Vincent, was a shop foreman for the company, and the other, John M. Richard, owned a business that sold small parts to the company.
Richard was scheduled to be sentenced yesterday, but that court date was postponed due to the expected bad weather. Vincent died a few months after pleading guilty.
The indictment against the two men, which was filed April 2021, alleges that the two men had worked out a scheme to have Richard's business bill the drilling company for parts that were never sold. Richard's business then issued checks to Vincent, as they were splitting the money. The indictment alleges that the thefts occurred between 2011 and 2017.
Vincent pleaded guilty in October 2021 to the first count of the indictment, Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud. But he died in January 2022, and so the case against him was closed and dismissed.
Richard pleaded guilty to Misprison of a Felony, in other words he admitted that he had knowledge that wire fraud was being committed but didn't tell FBI agents about it when they questioned him as part of their investigation into the thefts. According to court documents, mere failure to report a crime doesn't constitute a crime.
"You must have committed some affirmative act designed to conceal the fact that a federal felony had been committed," court records state.
Richard's sentencing is now set for February 15. He faces a sentence of up to three years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
