Michigan men sentenced for defrauding Ft. Wayne dentist

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) — Two Michigan men person been sentenced to situation pursuing a strategy that took millions from a Fort Wayne dentist’s office. Brian Nordan and Dustin Coleman were sentenced successful U.S. District Court aft pleading blameworthy to ligament fraud.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana Tina Nommay says Nordan was hired by the Fort Wayne dentist and proprietor of his ain signifier arsenic the office’s main selling serviceman successful 2006. Nordan was yet trusted to negociate the day-to-day operations and was paid $250,000 a twelvemonth for his enactment and to supervise implicit 100 employees.

Nommay says the proprietor became alert successful the outpouring of 2018 that Nordan had been misappropriating funds from the signifier for respective years via aggregate schemes. Forensic accountants recovered Nordan utilized institution recognition cards and reimbursement checks to wage for idiosyncratic expenses, utilized institution funds to wage disconnected his idiosyncratic recognition cards, paid shade wages and benefits to his hubby and sister and besides made unauthorized investments of his employer’s wealth into a toothpaste company, of which helium co-owned, and sold the toothpaste backmost to the dental signifier astatine marked-up rates. The forensic accountants determined Nordan’s schemes defrauded the bureau of much than $3 million.

U.S. Attorney Nommay says Coleman was Nordan’s home partner, past eventual husband, who was hired successful 2012 to enactment connected selling for the business. The dentist/business proprietor said Coleman did execute immoderate work, but was not alert Coleman was really employed by the concern from 2016 to 2018, and received astir $150,000 successful wages and benefits successful the ‘ghost employment’ scheme.

Nordan was officially sentenced to 42 months successful situation with 2 years of supervised release, and ordered to wage astir $3 cardinal successful restitution. Coleman received six months successful prison, 12 months of supervised merchandise and ordered to wage astir $150,000 successful restitution.