Arizona Man Indicted In Boise Federal Court On Twenty-six Counts Of Wire Fraud

Allegedly Embezzled Approximately $449,643 from Click Sales, Inc.

BOISE – Christopher Myers, 37, of Cave Creek, Arizona, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Boise on 26 counts of wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. An initial court appearance is set for May 20 at 10:00 a.m. MDT, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Larry M. Boyle at the federal courthouse in Boise.

According to the indictment, Myers was employed as the comptroller for Click Sales, Inc., from 2006 through November 2011. Click Sales, Inc. operated a Boise-based internet business that facilitated payments between retailers and consumers. It received payments from consumers for the purchase price of goods and services, kept a portion of the purchase price as commission, and remitted the remainder to the retailers by checks and wire transfers. Some of Click Sales’ retailer-clients failed to timely cash these checks. As the comptroller, Myers was responsible for maintaining a spreadsheet listing these “issued but uncashed” checks.

The indictment alleges that beginning in August 2008, Myers began wire transferring funds from the company’s bank account to his personal bank accounts. These funds belonged to Click Sales and corresponded to the funds set aside for “issued but uncashed” checks to retailer-clients. In total, Myers allegedly wired approximately $449,643 of Click Sales’ funds to his personal bank accounts. According to the indictment, he used these funds to make personal expenditures, including mortgage payments, and to subsidize his personal investment and retirement accounts.

Each count of wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss from the offense, and up to three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Boise Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.