Charles Hicks Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud, Fenton MO, 2023

Charles Hicks of Fenton, Missouri, pled guilty this afternoon to a federal mail fraud charge, admitting he stole $370,000 from two employers through a rigged invoice scheme that spanned two and a half years.

Hicks, who held purchasing authority at RockTenn Company and later at MarChem Company, created dummy vendor accounts and submitted false invoices that were processed and paid using company funds. He used the U.S. mail and electronic payment systems to execute the fraud, triggering federal jurisdiction.

Court documents show Hicks had the power to identify legitimate vendors and approve purchases—authority he weaponized to funnel money into shell companies he controlled. The fraud went undetected for months, bleeding cash from both firms until internal audits raised red flags.

He appeared before U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., where he entered a guilty plea to a one-count indictment. Sentencing is scheduled for January 4, 2017, and could land Hicks behind bars for up to 20 years. He also faces a possible fine of $250,000 and will be ordered to pay full restitution to his victims.

The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service led the investigation, tracing paper trails, bank records, and digital footprints that tied Hicks directly to the fraudulent accounts. Prosecutors say the scheme was methodical, sustained, and designed to exploit weaknesses in corporate oversight.

Assistant United States Attorney Tom Albus is prosecuting the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The conviction underscores how insiders with financial authority can turn trusted roles into engines of theft—leaving companies and taxpayers to pick up the tab.

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