Former employee of an online car sales company sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for $2 million embezzlement and absconding before sentencing

Seattle – A 42-year-old Tacoma man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 142 months in prison for wire fraud, for his scheme to steal more than $2 million from his employer, and for then going on the run before sentencing, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. John Whisenant was arrested in July 2023 and pleaded guilty in March 2024. Just before his July 2024 sentencing date, Whisenant sent an email to his pretrial services officer saying, “I’m not ready to go to jail yet.” Despite his efforts to evade police, the FBI located and arrested him on August 14, 2024.

At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Lauren King said, Whisenant’s life had been, “a revolving door of crime and prison time.” Judge King noted that the fraud had “a devastating impact… the financial damage (for the victim company) was extreme.” As for his failure to appear for sentencing, Judge King said, “Your actions have destroyed your credibility before this court.”

“This was a sophisticated fraud scheme motivated by greed,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Miller. “Mr. Whisenant bought Porsches and Mercedes and $23,000 airline tickets. He dealt a devastating blow to the company that employed him. Over 20 years he committed 19 fraud offenses related to stealing, swindling, and cheating, but this was the largest. The time is past due for him to be held accountable.”

According to records filed in the case, beginning in October 2018 Whisenant worked in a variety of roles at the online used car sales company.  About a year after he began with the company, Whisenant was promoted into a role where he had access to the company bank accounts and accounting software.

Beginning in about June 2019 and continuing until November 2021, Whisenant used his access to make 57 wire transfers totaling over $2 million into accounts he controlled. Whisenant disguised the transfers as legitimate business expenses in the company’s accounting software with a variety of false entries. Whisenant defrauded the company of $2,084,799.

According to records in the case, Whisenant used some of the money for a lavish lifestyle. He bought luxury automobiles such as Porches and Mercedes. He spent $123,096 for a 2022 Audi E-Tron and bought a $98,100 Tesla. He rented luxury homes in Southern California and purchased two airline tickets to Paris at a cost of nearly $23,000 each. More than $1 million went to pay his credit card debts.

The fraud on the company accounts was discovered when a bookkeeper began a more comprehensive review of the company’s financials in January 2022. Whisenant resigned abruptly in February 2022.

When confronted by the FBI, Whisenant tried to blame the embezzlement on the company CEO. As prosecutors noted in their sentencing memo the impact on the company has been severe. “Whisenant’s fraud seriously harmed his victims. His betrayal “traumatized” his co-workers. His fraud destabilized (victim company’s) finances and inflicted significant financial hardship on its largest shareholder, his family, and other investors. His actions may have ultimately cost (victim company’s) largest shareholder (and CEO) the company.”

Prior to his absconding prosecutors were recommending a seven-year prison sentence. Today, they recommended ten and a half years in prison to account for Whisenant’s disregard for the law and the court. While on the run Whisenant repeatedly swapped-out the SIM card in his phone to hide his location, and trafficked methamphetamine, GHB, Viagra and other pills to support himself.

This is Whisenant’s second federal fraud conviction. He was sentenced for wire fraud in 2017 and over the past two decades was convicted in state court of various credit card and check fraud crimes.

Whisenant has agreed to make full restitution of $2,084,779.

The case was investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean Waite.