Florida Man Sentenced to Over Four Years in Prison for Embezzling $5.8 Million From Employer

BOSTON – The former finance director of a Florida-based company has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for embezzling more than $5.8 million from his employer.

Paul Schnitzer, 52, of Clermont, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo. T. Sorokin to 54 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Schnitzer was also ordered to pay $5,831,829 in restitution and to forfeit various assets that he obtained through his crime, including the full balances of two financial accounts, subscription ownership shares in certain artwork, and up to $50,000 in cash on deposit with Bulgari, the luxury jeweler.

Between January 2022 and May 2024, Schnitzer made over 100 transfers, most disguised as “equity distributions,” from his employer’s operating account into his personal account. He also secretly used a line of credit to replenish the company’s operating account after he had stolen from it and to transfer additional funds to his account. To hide these transfers, Schnitzer provided falsified financial reports with inflated cash balances for the company, to the Massachusetts-based investment firm that owned the company. He also spoofed email addresses and posed as representatives of the company’s bank and customers to send falsified confirmations to the company’s audit firms.

While on pre-trial release, Schnitzer was arrested after cutting his location monitoring device in June 2024 and using a company credit card to make over $10,000 in purchases in August 2024.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol E. Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit handled the forfeiture aspects of the case.