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Press Release

Baltimore CFO Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Maryland
Chief Financial Officer of Baltimore business defrauded employer of $700,000

                                                                          

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                    at (410) 209-4885

 

Baltimore, Maryland – Jay Edward Wilkins, age 47, of Stoney Beach, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft stemming from a scheme to defraud his employer of more than $700,000. 

 

The plea was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning and Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.

 

According to the guilty plea and accompanying factual stipulation, Wilkins was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Revolution, a Baltimore business. Beginning in 2014, Wilkins started improperly diverting corporate funds for his own personal use. As the CFO, Wilkins had access to the personal identifying information, including names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and addresses, of current and former Revolution employees. Over a three-year fraud, Wilkins repeatedly logged into the Revolution payroll account, and changed the direct deposit information for multiple employees, causing the payroll company to send more than $700,000 in fraudulent payroll payments to himself.

 

In addition, Wilkins failed to report a significant portion of the money he obtained from the fraud on his annual tax returns filed with the IRS for the 2014, 2015, and 2016 calendar years.  Wilkins faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the count of wire fraud and 2 years in prison for the count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander has scheduled sentencing for January 23, 2018.

 

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FBI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Harry Gruber and Paul Riley, who are prosecuting the case.

 

Updated October 13, 2017