A West Virginia driver is going to jail for illegally charging more than 900 fraudulent fuel purchases to a company-issued credit card.
Jeffrey Jeffers, 35, of Williamstown, West Virgina was sentenced recebntly to two years and six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $510,465.19 in restitution for wire fraud.
Jeffers admitted to stealing $510,465.19 from his employer through false charges to company-issued credit cards.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between November 2022 and July 2024, Jeffers delivered products by truck for a large provider of industrial gas from its distribution facility in Wood County. The delivery trucks were fueled at the distribution facility and were also equipped with fuel credit cards, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office.
As part of his guilty plea, Jeffers admitted he fraudulently charged a total of $510,465.19 to the fuel credit cards throughout his term of employment. Jeffers admitted that he opened online payment platform accounts in the names of fictitious service stations he created as part of his scheme.
Jeffers charged more than 900 phantom fuel purchases to his employer’s fuel credit cards, payable to his fake service station accounts. Jeffers admitted that his delivery routes normally never required any refueling outside of the distribution facility.
United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence.
