Indictment — United States v. Vernon Fisher, No. 5:24-cr-00012

Summary

An Indictment, Document 3, filed 06/26/24, Case 5:24-cr-00012-EKD-JCH, United States of America v. Vernon Fisher, Western District of Virginia, Harrisonburg Division, citing 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Wire Fraud). It alleges that Fisher was hired in approximately February 2017 as the accountant and controller of a plastics thermoforming company called VICTIM COMPANY, and that from approximately February 2017 to approximately February 2021 Fisher used access to the company's bank accounts to pay personal credit cards, write checks to himself, and send funds to associates. It alleges a multi-year scheme involving over 300 financial transactions. Counts One through Five each list a date and amount, beginning with a $5,000.00 Cash App transfer on August 27, 2020. A Notice of Forfeiture follows.

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Case 5:24-cr-00012-EKD-JCH Document 3 Filed 06/26/24 Page1of6 Pageid#: 3

CLERK'S OFFICE U.S, DISTRICT. COURT
AT CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
FILED

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUN 26 2024
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA, S&QA. gry ctenk
HARRISONBURG DIVISION ey
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Case No. 5 au CR DUOIZ

‘Vv. : In violation of:
18 U.S.C. § 1343 (Wire Fraud)

VERNON FISHER

INDICTMENT

The Grand Jury charges that:

INTRODUCTORY ALLEGATIONS

1. At all times relevant to this Indictment, VICTIM COMPANY was a plastics
thermoforming company in the town of Elkton, which was located within the Western District of
Virginia. VICTIM COMPANY made shapes out of plastics to create specific products for
customers. |

2. VICTIM COMPANY hired the defendant, VERNON FISHER (“FISHER”), in
approximately February 2017, as the company’s accountant and controller. FISHER was a
relative of VICTIM COMPANY’s owners. FISHER had served as an accountant at other
companies before joining VICTIM COMPANY.

3. FISHER worked for VICTIM COMPANY between approximately February 2017
through February 2021. As the accountant and controller, FISHER’s responsibilities included
filing taxes, performing payroll, managing cash, managing bank deposits, and paying company
bills on behalf of VICTIM COMPANY.

4. When FISHER began employment at VICTIM COMPANY, he installed the
Case 5:24-cr-00012-EKD-JCH Document 3 Filed 06/26/24 Page 2of6 Pageid#: 4

QuickBooks application to manage its financials. QuickBooks was an accounting software
package geared towards small and medium-sized businesses. The software allowed the users to
track financial functions related to income, expenses, and inventory.

5. At VICTIM COMPANY, VERNON FISHER used a QuickBooks application
account registered in his.own name. The account was not registered to VICTIM COMPANY nor
its owners. As such, it was only accessible to FISHER. FISHER used QuickBooks for a variety
of purposes, including to manage payroll, perform accounting work, and handle tax functions for
VICTIM COMPANY.

6. During VERNON FISHER’s employment, VICTIM COMPANY held bank
accounts with United Bank, TRUIST Financial (formerly BB&T), and Wells Fargo (collectively,
the “VICTIM COMPANY Bank Accounts”). The VICTIM COMPANY Bank Accounts were
only to be used for businesses purposes.

7. VERNON FISHER was added as a signatory to the VICTIM COMPANY Bank
Accounts when he was hired. Soon thereafter, FISHER established online access to these accounts
via the banks’ internet portals. Through online access and his signatory designation, FISHER was
able to make cash withdrawals, conduct electronic transfers, and write checks. Notably, FISHER
did not share the username and passwords for his online access to the VICTIM COMPANY Bank
Accounts with VICTIM COMPANY’s owners. |

8. During FISHER’S employment, he routinely collected the mail sent to the VICTIM
COMPANY’s physical address in Elkton, Virginia. This mail included statements from VICTIM
COMPANY’s Bank Accounts.

THE SCHEME TO DEFRAUD

9. From approximately February 2017, and continuing to approximately February
Case 5:24-cr-00012-EKD-JCH Document 3 Filed 06/26/24 Page 3of6 Pageid#: 5

2021, in the Western District of Virginia and elsewhere, the defendant, VERNON FISHER, did
knowingly and with the intent to defraud, devise, and execute, and attempt to devise and execute,
a material scheme and artifice to defraud and obtain money and property by materially false and
fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by omissions and concealment of material
facts.

10. Asdetailed in the Indictment, FISHER used his access to the VICTIM COMPANY
Bank Accounts to directly transfer company funds to pay his personal credit cards, write checks
to himself which were later deposited in his personal bank accounts, and transfer company funds
to his associates and paramours, who were not employed by or affiliated with VICTIM
COMPANY. These transactions were for FISHER’s personal benefit and gain. None of these
types of transactions were known or authorized by VICTIM COMPANY ’s owners at the time of
their occurrence nor were they belatedly approved by VICTIM COMPANY’s owners after they
were incurred.

11. Through FISHER’s control and access to VICTIM COMPANY’s financial records,
including through his use of QuickBooks, his collection of mailed bank statements, and by abusing
the trust of the owners of VICTIM COMPANY, FISHER intentionally crafted and engaged in a
multi-year scheme involving over 300 financial transactions to steal from and defraud VICTIM
COMPANY.

MANNER AND MEANS OF THE SCHEME

As part of the scheme and while employed at VICTIM COMPANY,

12. FISHER linked his personal bank accounts to the VICTIM COMPANY Bank
Accounts and made payments to his personal credit cards using VICTIM COMPANY funds.

FISHER also added one of his paramours, who was not employed by, or in any way affiliated with,
Case 5:24-cr-00012-EKD-JCH Document 3 Filed 06/26/24 Page 4of6 Pageid#: 6

VICTIM COMPANY, as an authorized user on one of his accounts, allowing her to incur charges
that were then paid using VICTIM COMPANY funds.

13. The overwhelming majority of FISHER’s credit card expenditures during this time
frame were personal in nature. Charges included multiple trips to Neiman Marcus totaling over
$3,600, and Kay Jewelers totaling over $2,400, as well as hundreds of dollars spent at retailers
including Nordstrom, Macy’s, Target, Sephora, Zappos, Designer Shoe Warehouse, White House
Black Market, Escape Nails and Day Spa, Palm Beach Tan, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Wayfair.
These expenses were not incurred on behalf of nor to the benefit of VICTIM COMPANY.

14. In addition to linking his personal bank accounts, FISHER linked his PayPal
account to one of VICTIM COMPANY’s Bank Accounts and transferred VICTIM COMPANY
funds to pay for his personal credit cards and directly to his associates, who were not employed
by, or in any way affiliated with, VICTIM COMPANY. Some of these associates included
paramours like the individual FISHER added as an authorized user to his credit card account.
PayPal was an online money transfer application which served as an electronic alternative to
traditional paper transactions methods such as checks and money orders.

15. | FISHER also linked his Cash App account to one of the VICTIM COMPANY’s
Bank Accounts and transferred VICTIM COMPANY funds through Cash App directly to his
associates, some of whom included paramours, who were not employed by, or in any way affiliated
with, VICTIM COMPANY. Cash App was a mobile payment service that allowed users to transfer
money to one another using a mobile phone application.

16. | FISHER wrote checks to himself from VICTIM COMPANY Bank Accounts that
were not authorized by the owners of VICTIM COMPANY and were not authorized payroll

expenses. FISHER deposited these checks into his personal bank accounts.

USA02021R00278
Case 5:24-cr-00012-EKD-JCH Document 3 Filed 06/26/24 Page5of6 Pageid#: 7

17. The factual allegations set forth in the preceding paragraphs are re-alleged and
incorporated as if fully set forth herein.

18. | Onor about the dates set forth in the separate counts below, in the Western District
of Virginia and elsewhere, the defendant, VERNON FISHER, for the purpose of executing the
scheme described above, and attempting to do so, did knowingly transmit and cause to be

transmitted the following writings, signs, pictures, and sounds in interstate commerce by means of

COUNTS ONE THROUGH FIVE

wire communications:

Wire Fraud
(18 U.S.C. § 1343)

_ COUNT

__DATE

AMOUNT

_DESCRIPTION

1

August 27, 2020

$5,000.00

Cash App transfer from one of
the VICTIM COMPANY Bank
Accounts to an associate of
VERNON FISHER.

November 10,
2020

$2,740.10

Payment sent from one of the
VICTIM COMPANY Bank
Accounts to VERNON FISHER’s
personal credit card.

July 6, 2020

$2,471.05

PayPal transfer from one of the
VICTIM COMPANY Bank
Accounts to VERNON FISHER’s
personal bank account.

May 8, 2020

$2,358.49

PayPal transfer from one of the
VICTIM COMPANY Bank
Accounts to VERNON FISHER’s
personal bank account.

September 22,
2020

$2,000.00

Cash App transfer from one of
the VICTIM COMPANY Bank
Accounts to an associate of
VERNON FISHER.

USA02021R00278
Case 5:24-cr-00012-EKD-JCH Document 3 Filed 06/26/24 Page6of6 Pageid#: 8

19. Each in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.

NOTICE OF FORFEITURE

20. | Upon conviction of one or more of the felony offenses alleged in this Indictment,
defendant shall forfeit to the United States:

a. Any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds
traceable to a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C)
and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c).

21. — Ifany of the above-described forfeitable property, as a result of any act or omission
of the defendant:

cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;

has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with a third person;
has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the Court;

has been substantially diminished in value; or

has been commingled with other property which cannot be
subdivided without difficulty;

it is the intent of the United States to seek forfeiture of any other property of the defendant up to
the value of the above-described forfeitable property, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).
A TRUE BILL, this 2 _ day of June 2024.

s/ FOREPERSON

FOREPERSON
foy—

CHRISTOPHER R. KAVANAUGH
United States Attorney

USAO2021R00278


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