BOISE, Idaho — A Meridian man who was convicted of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering when the COVID-19 pandemic first began was sentenced to nearly three and half years in federal prison, according to District Court officials.
Cassandra Fulghum, a spokesperson for the Idaho United States Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho, said in a press release that a former human resources manager for an Ontario food processing plant was sentenced to serve 41 months in federal prison.
Court documents say 49-year-old Douglas Wold of Meridian conducted two separate fraud schemes at Fry Foods, Inc. in Ontario, Ore. during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
From May and August 2020, according to officials, Wold submitted fraudulent payroll requests for employees who either never worked at the business or were no longer employed there and deposited the paychecks into his own bank accounts.
Then, in May 2020, Wold committed wire fraud when he sent an invoice to his own business for COVID-19 testing at Fry Foods, Inc when the testing was actually done at a lower price by another group. The fraudulent invoice was for $39,995. Officials added that Wold never paid the healthcare provider that had done the testing.
In total, Wold fraudulently transferred $69,116.48 from his schemes to his own bank accounts and used the funds to buy a speedboat and a trailer, officials said. The government has since recovered the speedboat. It is unknown the make or model of the boat or its value.
The chief district judge also ordered Wold to serve three years of supervised release. Wold pleaded guilty to all of the charges on May 18, 2021.
"This sentence is the price Wold will pay for abusing his position of trust to create a stream of income he was not entitled to," IRS-Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Andy Tsui said in a statement.
A court date for a final order of restitution will be announced later on.
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