Colorado Man Gets 7 Years for Verizon Heist

TULSA, Okla. – Jesse Michael Greenwald, 59, of Colorado, is trading the Rockies for a federal prison cell after receiving an 84-month sentence for his role in a multi-million dollar theft of Verizon Communications equipment. U.S. District Court Judge John E. Dowdell handed down the sentence today, alongside a three-year supervised release term, as announced by Danny C. Williams Sr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Greenwald pleaded guilty last August to conspiring to commit money laundering, tying him to a sophisticated scheme that saw stolen telecommunications gear funnelled from a Tulsa warehouse to a Colorado storage facility, then sold for a hefty profit. He wasn’t acting alone. Scott Gollan, 26, and Michael Greenwald, 25, both hailing from Bastrop, Texas, and Tulsa local James Pennoyer, 49, have also admitted guilt and are awaiting their own sentencing dates. This wasn’t a smash-and-grab; it was a calculated operation.

Court records reveal the operation ran from July 2009 to May 2014. Pennoyer, a contract employee at the Verizon Communications warehouse in Tulsa, allegedly used his position to facilitate the thefts. The stolen equipment wasn’t immediately fenced; it was shipped to Colorado Springs and stockpiled, awaiting buyers. A North Carolina company ultimately purchased the stolen goods, showering Greenwald and his associates with substantial payments – the source of the laundering charge.

The scale of the fraud is staggering. The conspirators engaged in illegal monetary transactions exceeding $10,000 each, attempting to disguise the illicit origin of the funds. The FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation dug into the financial trail, ultimately exposing the network. Judge Dowdell didn’t just hand down a prison sentence; he also ordered Greenwald to pay restitution totaling a hefty $4,419,125 – a clear message that profiting from theft carries a steep price.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey A. Gallant and Kevin C. Leitch spearheaded the prosecution, building the case against Greenwald and his co-conspirators. The investigation highlights the ongoing threat of internal theft and the lengths to which criminals will go to profit from stolen goods. The case, officially listed as U.S. v. Jesse Michael Greenwald, serves as a stark warning to anyone considering similar schemes.

While Greenwald’s sentence brings a measure of closure to this case, the ripple effects will continue. Gollan, Michael Greenwald, and Pennoyer now face their own fates, and the stolen equipment’s impact on Verizon’s operations remains significant. Grimy Times will continue to follow this story and report on the sentencing of the remaining defendants as information becomes available.

RELATED: Lewiston Predator Gets 15 Years for Online Exploitation

RELATED: Colorado Springs Dealer Gets 25 Years