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Press Release

Denver, N.C. Man Is Sentenced To Four And A Half Years In Prison For Defrauding His Former Employer Of More than $4 Million

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Michael Guzman, 43, of Denver, N.C., was sentenced today to 54 months in prison and two years of supervised release for defrauding his former employer of more than $4 million, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell also ordered Guzman to pay $4.1 million in restitution.

Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, joins Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer in making today’s announcement.

According to court records, plea documents and today’s sentencing hearing, from June 2019 to May 2020, Guzman executed a scheme to defraud his employer, identified in court documents as Company A, of more than $4 million, by improperly auctioning off Company A’s assets and funneling the proceeds through shell companies he formed. Company A is a large equipment rental company headquartered in Fort Mill, S.C., that rents out on-road and off-road machinery for construction and other purposes. Guzman worked for Company A as a Fleet Operations Manager, and was responsible for, among other things, the disposal of aged equipment, also known as assets.

Court records show that, during the relevant time period, Guzman arranged for approximately 398 assets of Company A to be auctioned off through an online auction house that buys and sells used heavy construction equipment. To perpetuate the fraud, Guzman represented to the auction house that the assets were owned by Guzman’s shell companies, when in fact the majority of the assets were still owned by Company A. In his capacity as a Fleet Operations Manager, Guzman was able to hide the scheme from Company A by manipulating internal company records.

According to filed court documents, Guzman arranged for the proceeds of the sales to be sent to a bank account under his control and used the money to buy a condominium in South Carolina, a plot of land in New York, an RV vehicle, a boat, and multiple cars and trucks.

On May 20, 2021, Guzman pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. He will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon to begin serving his sentence designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer thanked the FBI for their investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Vento, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

Updated August 26, 2021

Topic
Financial Fraud