A man from Nevada, Missouri has pleaded guilty in federal court to embezzling approximately $1.5 million from his employer and failing to report the stolen funds as income on his tax returns.
Justin R. Marquardt, 55, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays, admitting to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.
According to court documents, Marquardt held the position of executive director at his company and had access to all company finances from 1994 to 2023. He admitted to transferring funds without authorization from his employer’s bank accounts into his personal accounts and writing unauthorized checks for himself. The stolen money was used for personal expenses such as travel and gambling both online and at casinos.
To conceal the thefts, Marquardt omitted these transactions from the business’s QuickBooks ledger that he provided to an accountant and tax preparer. He also recorded fraudulent payments as business expenses in the records.
For the years 2017 through 2020 and in 2023, Marquardt filed federal income tax returns in which he did not report any of the embezzled funds as income.
“By pleading guilty today, Marquardt admitted that he stole approximately $1.5 million from his employer’s bank accounts and used those funds for his personal benefit. Marquardt held the title of executive director at his company and by virtue of his position, had access to all company finances and financial accounts from 1994 to 2023. As part of his scheme, Marquardt, without authorization, transferred funds from his employer’s bank accounts to his personal accounts and wrote himself unauthorized checks from business bank accounts. Marquardt spent most of the money on personal expenses, including travel and gambling online and at casinos. To hide his embezzlement, Marquardt omitted these unauthorized transactions from the business’s QuickBooks ledger that he provided to an accountant and tax preparer. Marquardt also recorded false and fraudulent payments as business expenses in the QuickBooks records to conceal his embezzlement.”
“For tax years 2017 – 2020 and 2023, Marquardt filed United States federal income tax returns on Forms 1040 in which he willfully failed to report his embezzled income.”
Under federal law, Marquardt could face up to 20 years in prison without parole for wire fraud and up to three years for filing a false tax return; however, sentencing will be determined by a judge after considering advisory guidelines.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Venneman following investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI).
