Bartleson Guilty of Embezzlement

Anthony Bartleson, 42, from Forest City, Iowa, has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $40,000 from an employee retirement plan while serving as the Vice President and Treasurer of Bartleson Masonry, Inc.

In a plea agreement, Bartleson admitted to withholding money from employees’ paychecks that was supposed to be forwarded to an investment company for deposit into each employee’s Individual Retirement Account. Instead, he used the money for his own benefit, the benefit of others, and to pay business expenses for Bartleson Masonry, Inc.

Bartleson embezzled over $25,000 from the employee benefit plan by withholding money from paychecks and also embezzled more than $15,000 from the plan by failing to pay employer matching contributions to the benefit plan between 2006 and 2008.

The case against Bartleson was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and was investigated by the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/ with the case file number 14-CR-3022.

Bartleson faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment. Sentencing before United States District Court Mark Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared.

Bartleson remains free on conditions of release set by the District Court. The guilty plea is a result of the ongoing efforts of law enforcement to crack down on white-collar crimes, particularly those involving embezzlement from employee benefit plans.

The embezzlement of employee benefit plans is a serious crime that can have devastating effects on the employees who rely on these plans for their retirement. The guilty plea of Anthony Bartleson serves as a reminder that those who engage in such crimes will be held accountable and face severe penalties.