Two men have been sentenced for their roles in a scheme that defrauded an Alabama business of nearly $1.3 million over six months. Dustin Cole Mosley, 40, and Jason Robert Riel, 41, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after creating a fake safety services company and billing Mosley’s employer, Alabama River Cellulose (ARC) in Monroe County, for services never provided.
Mosley, who was the Safety Manager at ARC, used his position to approve more than 20 fraudulent invoices from the shell company controlled by Riel. The pair split the proceeds from these payments, which totaled close to $1.3 million.
Mosley received an 18-month prison sentence due to abusing his position of trust within the company. Riel was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Both were ordered to pay restitution.
“Financial crimes leave paper trails that we and our investigative partners—here, the FBI—can and do follow. It’s only a matter of time before they are caught. Whatever short-term monetary benefit they received evaporates, replaced by prison time, and repayment of the money they stole,” said U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello. “Together with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone who victimizes businesses to line their own pockets.”
The investigation was led by the FBI’s Mobile Division. Special Agent in Charge Sara Jones stated: “The FBI is committed to investigating those who exploit the American people for financial gain and seeing through the prosecution of those individuals. These sentences are another example of our collaborative efforts to combat criminal activity in conjunction with our partner agencies. The hard work of our agents and professional staff, along with a dedicated United States Attorney’s Office, assures that these criminals will not go unpunished for their actions.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex F. Lankford IV prosecuted the case.
