YORK COUNTY MAN PLEADS GUILTY

Martin C. Carlson, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that TODD S. ALBRIGHT, age 47, of Manchester, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of Mail Fraud.

Albright was indicted and charged with one count of Mail Fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1341, on April 16, 2008. The Indictment alleges Albright defrauded his former employer, I. B. Abel, Inc., out of approximately $583,799 between April 1999 and May 2007 via a false invoice scheme. According to the Indictment, Albright’s scheme was facilitated by the fact that he served as a Vice President at I. B. ABEL and held the unilateral power to approve the false invoices he created for payment.

The case was investigated by a Lancaster law firm and an accounting firm hired by I. B. Abel last year. Initially, Albright denied any wrongdoing but eventually confessed to the internal investigators in May 2007. Albright also later confessed to the FBI in October of last year.

Albright entered his guilty plea today before Senior U.S. District Court Judge William Caldwell. The Mail Fraud count carries a potential penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment and $1,000,000 fine.

Albright agreed to plead guilty to the charge pursuant to a written plea agreement. The agreement stipulates the loss in the case is $583,799 and reserves the government’s right to recommend any sentence, up to and including the statutory maximum. The agreement also obligates Albright to make full and complete disclosure of all assets to the government, to submit to interviews regarding his financial status, and, if necessary, to undergo a polygraph examination to ensure his compliance.

The case was investigated by the Harrisburg Office of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel.

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