The IRS Throws a Wrench in Mechanic’s Plan

Albert Strong, a North Carolina mechanic, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for wire fraud and filing a false income tax return after pleading guilty to the charges in April, 2018.

Strong worked as a mechanic/machinist at a company in Charlotte. From 2008 to 2015, Strong embezzled more than $1,488,000 from the company using a fraudulent purchasing and billing scheme.  Using a fake parts vendor, Strong would order fictitious parts from the vendor, creating false invoices and submitting them to the company.

The conviction was based on Strong not reporting his embezzled funds on his 2009-2015 tax returns.  The loss to the IRS was approximately $450,000.

In addition to jail time, Strong was also ordered to serve two years supervised release and pay restitution in the amount of $1,941,377.32