Red Oak couple sentenced after pleading guilty in $15 million embezzlement scheme
RED OAK, Texas - A husband and wife from Red Oak have been sentenced to prison for their part in a $15 million retirement plan embezzlement scheme.
According to a release from U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox, the co-owners of Vantage Benefits Administrators, 59-year-old Wendy Richie and 55-year-old Jeffrey Richie, were sentenced to a combined 18 years in prison.
Wendy pleaded guilty back in June to two counts of theft from an employee benefit plan and one count of aggravated identity theft. She was sentenced Thursday to 11 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $12.6 million in restitution.
Her husband, Jeffrey, pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting theft from an employee benefit plan. He was sentenced to 87 months in prison and ordered to pay $7.4 million in restitution.
The Richie’s company served as third party administrator for dozens of pension and retirement funds.
According to court documents, Wendy admitted to using fund beneficiaries’ personal information to submit $15.2 million in fraudulent distribution requests.
Instead of depositing the money into their accounts, she put it into the company’s operating account, before putting it into personal bank accounts.
An employee even reportedly confronted Jeffrey about his wife’s crimes, but she continued to embezzle the money.
Jeffrey admitted that he knew about at least $6.2 million of the $15 million that was stolen.
They reportedly admitted to submitting more than 90 unauthorized distribution requests from 13 pension plans and 7 retirement plans from 2014 to 2017.