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Fraudulent Scheme Unravels at PARIC Construction
Brian Paluch, former Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of PARIC Construction, has been indicted on three counts of mail fraud for using the company’s corporate funds to pay his own personal expenses. The scheme, which spanned from January 2010 to February 2014, involved Paluch using a PARIC-issued American Express card to cover personal travel, dining, spa charges, electronics, and personal gifts for family and friends.
According to the indictment, Paluch submitted false and altered financial summaries of the monthly American Express statements by deleting and altering his own personal charges. On several occasions, he forged the PARIC President’s signature on these false financial summaries as purported authorization for the payments.
Paluch also created sham and inflated Sunset Country Club invoices to pay for personal items at the club unrelated to the legitimate business of PARIC. In his position as CFO, Paluch was responsible for calculating the annual bonuses for PARIC’s employees, including his own. He inflated his base salary in calculating his own annual bonus for several years.
Paluch further assisted a PARIC employee in issuing corporate checks to pay for the employee’s daughter’s private school tuition without PARIC’s knowledge. He also directed the payment of $5,000 in PARIC corporate funds to a St. Louis area law firm as an incentive for that law firm to hire his niece as a summer associate.
Paluch, of Kirkwood, Missouri, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three felony counts of mail fraud. He is expected to appear in federal court later this week. If convicted, each count of the indictment carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000.
The case was investigated by the Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Hal Goldsmith is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The victim, PARIC Construction Company, provided assistance in the investigation.
As is always the case, charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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