Press Release
South Carolina Man Sentenced for Mail Fraud
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio
CINCINNATI – Christopher Outlaw, 46, of Moore, S.C., was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.9 million in restitution for mail fraud.
Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio and Angela L. Byers, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Field Division, announced the sentence handed down today by U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.
According to court documents, beginning in at least 2005 through August 2012, Outlaw embezzled more than $1.9 million from his former employer.
Outlaw was employed by FTZ Industries, Inc. FTZ is a manufacturer of electrical products for transportation, plant maintenance, marine and custom applications, located in Simpsonville, South Carolina. FTZ is a division of ILSCO Corporation, which is an electrical connector manufacturing company located in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The defendant embezzled money by impersonating a former vendor of his employer. Specifically, the defendant opened a bank account in false affiliation with Molex Incorporated, a company that provides electrical components to its customers, which previously included FTZ. Outlaw submitted to his employer fictitious invoices that appeared to be from Molex. In reality, however, FTZ had not received any products from Molex because the invoices that Outlaw submitted were fake. Through the fictitious invoices, Outlaw would direct his employer to send payments to Molex to a mailbox that he had opened in Georgia in Molex’s name.
U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the FBI, as well as Cincinnati Branch Chief Emily N. Glatfelter, who represented the United States in this case.
Updated January 12, 2016
Topic
Financial Fraud
Component