Indianapolis – United States Attorney Josh J. Minkler announced today a former Brownsburg man, now living in Florida, was sentenced following his plea of guilty to wire fraud, bank fraud and tax evasion charges. Stephen Scott, 56, Palm Springs, Florida, was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment by U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.
“Mr. Scott’s actions, devastated his victims who placed absolute trust in his financial management,” said Minkler. “He will now have 30 months in the Bureau of Prisons to think about his crime.”
Scott served as the trustee for the victim’s family trust in Brownsburg, Indiana, from August 2007 to July 2011. During that time, he embezzled approximately $253,000 and failed to pay approximately $43,000 in taxes on his ill-gotten gains.
Scott secretly withdrew funds from the trust fund and provided false financial records to the victims and their accountants and attorneys to conceal his misdeeds. Scott used the stolen funds for his personal benefit.
This case was investigated by the Indiana State Police and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
Special Agent in Charge Gabriel L. Grchan said, "It is unfortunate to see someone abuse a position of trust for self-enrichment. This investigation shows no matter how hard criminals try to hide their ill-gotten gains, IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our local partners will unravel the lies and bring them to justice.”
According to Senior Litigation Counsel Steven D. DeBrota who prosecuted this case for the government, Scott must repay $253,000 to the victim and $43,000 to the IRS, as well as serve five years of supervised release after his sentence.