EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — A former Tyson Foods employee faces sentencing in July after admitting that he defrauded the company out of more than $416,000 while working at its Emporia plant.
David John Ranger was plant maintenance manager at the Emporia plant when he used company cards and created a fictitious company in order to divert Tyson payments to pay for his personal expenses, according to federal prosecutors.
Ranger pleaded guilty to wire fraud on April 28. His sentencing is scheduled for July 28, The Emporia Gazette reported.
The scheme ran from December 2012 to April 2019, while Ranger was responsible for buying equipment, goods and services for plant maintenance.
On Dec. 27, 2012, Ranger established a Square, Inc. account in the name of a non-existent company called “Electric Motor Repair Service.”
Beginning in September of 2013, he used the Tyson cards for personal expenses. He also designated his personal accounts to receive Square Inc. deposits for Electric Motor Repair Services work that he claimed the company was providing for Tyson.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a forfeiture charge and recommend a sentence at the low end of the applicable sentencing guidelines.
