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Press Release

Beloit Wisconsin Woman Sentenced For Mail Fraud

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois

ROCKFORD — A former shipping manager for American Extrusion International (“AEI”), of South Beloit, Ill., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala for mail fraud. REVA K. VERA, 58, of Beloit, Wis., who pled guilty to the charge on Sept. 11, 2014, was sentenced to 29 months in federal prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. In addition, Judge Kapala ordered Vera to pay $352,803.23 in restitution to AEI.

According to the plea agreement, Vera, as the shipping manager, was responsible for authorizing payments to vendors who provided shipping services to AEI. As stated in the plea agreement, Vera created two fraudulent companies, Total Quality Logistics (“TQL”) and Val Tech, Inc., and from May 4, 2012 to Oct. 9, 2013, defrauded AEI out of at least $352,803.23. During that time period, Vera created fictitious invoices from Val Tech, Inc. and TQL for shipping services that those companies had purportedly performed for AEI when in fact, Val Tech, Inc. and TQL provided no such shipping services for AEI. According to the plea agreement, Vera submitted the fictitious invoices to AEI’s accounts payable department causing checks to be issued by AEI payable to Val Tech, Inc. or TQL in the amount of the invoice. The plea agreement further states that after AEI’s accounts payable department generated the checks for the fictitious invoices submitted by Vera, AEI mailed the checks payable to Val Tech, Inc. to an address of Vera’s relative in Beloit, Wis., and the checks payable to TQL to a post office box in Loves Park, Ill. belonging to Vera. According to the plea agreement, as part of the scheme to defraud AEI, Vera obtained $85,993 in checks from AEI payable to Val Tech, Inc., and $266,810.23 in checks from AEI payable to TQL that she either cashed or deposited into her personal bank account. Vera used the money for her personal benefit.

The sentencing was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The South Beloit Police Department assisted in the investigation.

The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Pedersen.

Updated July 23, 2015