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Published on January 17, 2025
Former St. Louis University IT Director Sentenced to 46 Months and Ordered to Repay $3.9 Million for Wire FraudSource: Google Street View

A former IT director from a St. Louis-area university is set to serve 46 months behind bars after being sentenced last Thursday. Ronald Simpson, who hails from St. Peters, Missouri, was also ordered to fully repay the staggering sum of $3.9 million for defrauding both his employer and an equipment supplier, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement. Simpson, 54, entered a guilty plea in June at the U.S. District Court in St. Louis for one felony count of wire fraud.

This financial saga began around November 29, 2018, when Simpson leveraged his position to sell off hundreds of university IT equipment pieces to an undisclosed third party. A deceitful move made possible after securing purchase approvals for items he falsely claimed would serve the university's needs. Furthermore, he managed to ingeniously secure replacement items from the supplier by fraudulently reporting that the initial equipment provided was defective, only to also sell the replacements.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey laid down the law, mandating Simpson to reimburse the university to the tune of $3.19 million while the affected IT supplier is due for a restitution of $780,233. The university, grappling with the fallout from Simpson's actions, expressed in a victim impact letter how the crime delivered "a serious blow to our financial stability," and articulated a poignant reality—financial resources that should have bolstered student-centered programs and resources were instead rerouted to cover the losses incurred. On top of that, the betrayal hit hard on colleagues' trust and morale, as relayed by the letter.

The equipment supplier, too, voiced their sense of exploitation by Simpson, indicating his abuse of their expedited replacement product policy. This was meant for critical IT infrastructures that suffered from defective parts—"before the defective product is returned," the supplier detailed. Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson of the FBI's St. Louis Division commented, "In this case, there were no substantial assets to seize because Ronald Simpson frivolously blew away millions of dollars on himself without any regard to how his crimes would damage the university, its employees and its students." The unfortunate reality of disappearing assets left the FBI with little to recover.

The investigation was spearheaded by the FBI, with both the university and IT supplier assisting extensively throughout the process. It was Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman who prosecuted the case of financial fraud.