Jesse Arden Sherman, the former financial overseer of a Shelton, Washington outdoor equipment company, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison. This sentence followed his defrauding of Sims Vibration Laboratory Inc. of over $665,000. The announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Sherman was hired by the company in 2008 and had control over its financial operations. Starting in 2012, he began embezzling funds, continuing until 2018. He transferred company money to his personal accounts and avoided paying $202,196 in taxes on the stolen funds. Sherman manipulated business records and created fake payroll checks, depositing them for his personal use. Some payments were marked as "void" in the company books to hide the fraud. The total loss to the company was $665,840. U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright noted the financial harm caused to the company and its employees, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Sherman was sentenced for creating a multi-faceted fraud scheme that he used over the years to unjustly enrich himself. Prosecutors noted that, "Despite personal and professional privileges, Sherman elected to create a multi-faceted fraud scheme, which he deployed repeatedly over the years to unjustly enrich himself." They also pointed out that Sherman had the opportunity to address his gambling issues but chose not to, saying, "Sherman had the means and self-recognition to address this issue and instead of doing so he instead re-committed to his scheme over and over again to the detriment of SVL, SVL employees, SVL business partners, and Sherman’s family." As part of his sentence, Sherman is required to repay the full amount taken from Sims Vibration Laboratory Inc. and his tax obligations to the Internal Revenue Service. The investigation was led by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the FBI, and the Mason County Sheriff's Office, with Assistant United States Attorney Brian Wynne prosecuting the case, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
