Aurora Man Sentenced For Fraud And Money Laundering

DENVER -- Justin Manning, age 40, of Aurora, Colorado, was sentenced to serve 22 months of incarceration followed by 3 years of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel for wire fraud and money laundering.  Manning was also ordered to pay restitution of $830,000.  The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Steven Osborne. 

According to information contained in the indictment, between 2012 and 2015, Manning was employed as an asset protection manager and assistant store manager at a local Walmart.  In those job positions, Manning had access to blank Money Network Checks used in Walmart’s Money Network System.  Beginning in approximately October 2013 and continuing through January 2015, Manning fraudulently filled out money network checks, and caused others to fill out the checks, in the name of third parties in order to deceive other Walmart employees into believing they were legitimate checks.  Manning used his management positions to access the store’s deposit bundles in a safe at the store and took cash from those deposit bundles.  To hide the fact that he took the cash, defendant Manning created fake loans to one of the store’s cash registers.  Manning then placed in those cash registers fraudulent Money Network Checks totaling the same amount as the cash taken so that the total balance would be correct and other Walmart employees would not realize cash had been taken from the safe.   Manning also knowingly engaged in a financial transaction utilizing the proceeds of the wire fraud.  Specifically, Manning transferred funds between accounts at a financial institution. 

“I don’t suggest messing with our white collar prosecutors or IRS Criminal Investigators,” U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer said.  “There’s no future in it. Except prison.”

"The role of IRS Criminal Investigation becomes even more important in embezzlement and fraud cases due to the complex financial transactions that can take time to unravel," said Steven Osborne, Special Agent in Charge, Denver Field Office. “This sentence shows there are detrimental consequences for individuals who engage in financial fraud.”  

This case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS CI).  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Pegeen Rhyne.