A Michigan man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Massachusetts in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud a Northampton construction company of nearly $1 million.
Jonathan McCormack, 39, of Lapeer, Mich., was indicted on 17 counts of wire fraud and 12 counts of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000.
He will appear in federal court in Springfield, Massachusetts, at a later date.
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According to the indictment, McCormack was employed as a project supervisor for BluRoc, LLC., a construction company based in Northampton, Mass. McCormack also owned and operated JDM Site Services, LLC (JDM), a Michigan-based company that heavy rented equipment to BluRoc.
It is alleged that between January 2019 through January 2021, McCormack devised a scheme to defraud BluRoc by various means, including submitting materially false JDM invoices for purported equipment usage and by diverting BluRoc labor, equipment and materials for his own personal use and benefit.
To further this scheme, McCormack allegedly entered fraudulent employee time and JDM equipment usage data in BluRoc’s tracking system that overstated both the number of hours the employees, including himself, were working on BluRoc projects as well as the number of hours JDM equipment was actually used. McCormack also allegedly emailed false JDM invoices to BluRoc personnel for inflated amounts that substantially overstated the number of hours the equipment was actually used.
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It is further alleged that McCormack deposited payments received for these false invoices into a JDM bank account and used the proceeds for his own personal use and benefit – including to purchase and renovate a luxury hunting lodge; make improvements to his personal residence; purchase recreational vehicles including snowmobiles; and repay a loan to his uncle.
Lastly, McCormack allegedly directed BluRoc workers to conduct work at the luxury hunting lodge he purchased, including clearing an area between the lodge and an adjacent property owned by his uncle; laying timber mats that McCormack had stolen from a BluRoc worksite; and haying and seeding the area with material that he had also stolen from a BluRoc worksite. McCormack then allegedly electronically approved the workers’ time and equipment usage in BluRoc’s tracking system – so that BluRoc, rather than McCormack, paid for their work.
In addition to the charges, the indictment seeks forfeiture of $920,716, the hunting lodge and six Polaris recreational vehicles.
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The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of engaging in monetary transactions in criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000 provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
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