Federal judge sentences Elma man for stealing over $665,000 from Mason County employer
A federal judge has sentenced a former controller of a Mason County-based company to one year and one day in prison for stealing at least $665,840 in an embezzlement scheme.
Jesse Arden Sherman, a 63-year-old man from Elma, learned of his sentence at a Monday hearing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma.
Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright delivered the sentence about four months after Sherman pleaded guilty to wire fraud as part of a plea deal, according to court records. Federal prosecutors charged him last November after a multi-agency investigation determined he illegally diverted funds from Sims Vibration Laboratory Inc. (SVL) between 2012 to 2018.
Investigators also found Sherman did not pay taxes for his ill-gotten gains. That meant he owed the Internal Revenue Service $202,196.
In addition to the prison sentence, Cartwright sentenced Sherman to three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered him to return the money he stole from his employer as well as pay his tax debt.
Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S Attorney Brian Wynne. In a memorandum to the court, prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Sherman to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
The memo states Sherman used his education and skills as an accountant to exploit his employer in a “multi-faceted fraud scheme.”
“Although he claims his gambling drove his behaviors, Sherman had the means and self-recognition to address this issue, and instead of doing so, he instead re-committed to his scheme over and over again to the detriment of SVL, SVL employees, SVL business partners and Sherman’s family,” the memo says.
Sherman began working for SVL in 2008. As a controller, he had complete access to the company’s financial operations.
Court records state Sherman made false representations to the company’s owner and president, created false business records and drafted checks that he deposited in his own accounts.
The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Mason County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
