Chicago, IL – A former accountant who handled financial records for a Chicago construction company has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison after embezzling nearly $2 million from the business.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Richard A. Mandarino, 46, of Scarborough, Ontario, pleaded guilty to wire fraud last year. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger sentenced him to two years and two months in prison and ordered restitution exceeding $1.8 million.
Mandarino admitted to creating false payment requests between 2015 and 2017 while working remotely from Canada on the firm’s Canadian business projects. Prosecutors say he used the company’s accounting system to generate fraudulent checks payable to vendors for goods and services that were never provided. Mandarino then redirected those payments for personal use, hiding the transactions with fictitious accounting entries.
Officials stated Mandarino’s actions caused the Chicago construction company to suffer more than $1.8 million in financial losses. The court emphasized the calculated nature of the fraud and the trust Mandarino violated.
“Defendant engaged in a deceptive and calculated scheme against his employer who trusted him with its finances,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “The scheme was complex and multilayered.”
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Douglas S. DePodesta, and other federal officials involved in the case. Mandarino is required to begin paying restitution to his former employer upon release.
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