Indiana man sentenced 6 years for embezzling $14 million from employer
By Daja Stowe
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INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Greenwood man was sentenced to six years in federal prison for embezzling $14 million from his former employer, according to a media release Tuesday.
Daniel Fruits, 47, was hired to manage and run a trucking company, defrauded his employer out of more than $14 million over a 4.5 year period. From Jan. 2015 through June 2019, a Kentucky based entity invested over $14 million into the trucking company.
Fruits used the money invested to fund his own lavish lifestyle including purchasing real estate, several vehicles including two Ferraris and a Corvette, farm equipment including a horse trailer, a show horse, multiple Rolex watches, firearms, private jet flights, and high-end escort services.
Fruits created false and misleading financial statements to hide his thefts. He sent those statements to his employer to induce additional investments into the trucking company, according to the news release.
In 2019, Fruits’ employer asked to have an accountant review the trucking companies financial statements and provide a report. Fruits fabricated a letter allegedly written by an accountant. When the employer followed up with the accountant they learned that the letter was false and fictitious.
Fruits was fired the next day and the victims contacted law enforcement.
Investigators revealed that Fruits attempted to steal $432,000 from Fifth Third Bank by providing false documents to secure a mortgage. Fruits perpetrated a title wash scheme that fraudulently removed Ally Financials’ lien from a $69,607 truck.
Fruits was arrested on Dec. 16, 2020. On Aug. 18, 2021, A federal judge revoked his conditions of pretrial release and ordered him to be detained in the custody of the U.S. Marshal, after finding that Fruits had committed several violations including being charged with new fraud offenses in state court.
“Mr. Fruits stole an outrageous sum of money to fuel an extravagant lifestyle, concealing his crimes with years of lies and false documents,” said Zachary A. Myers, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Complex economic crimes such as these devastate the finances and security of businesses and individuals. The serious prison sentence imposed today demonstrates that this U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, IRS-CI, and all our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to hold these criminals accountable.”
U.S. District Judge Sara Evans Baker ordered that Fruits is to be on probation for three years following his release and he must pay $14,339,252.04 in restitution to his victims.
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