Gregory Harriman Gets 30 Months for $386K NSK Embezzlement

Gregory Harriman, 52, formerly of Bennington, Vermont, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on December 19, 2016, for embezzling $386,850 from NSK Steering Systems America, one of the largest employers in southern Vermont. Harriman, who served as plant manager, used his position to orchestrate a years-long fraud scheme, funneling company funds through shell vendors he secretly controlled. District Judge William K. Sessions, III imposed the sentence and ordered three years of supervised release plus full restitution.

From 2007 to 2011, Harriman engineered a web of false invoices through Frontier Automation, a company he co-created with James Waters. While Harriman concealed his ownership and financial stake, he directed NSK work to the phantom vendor, approved inflated and fake invoices, and ensured payments were rerouted to his benefit. Waters, who has pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing on January 17, 2017, helped fabricate quotes and cover the paper trail—assisted every step by Harriman’s behind-the-scenes manipulation.

The fraud didn’t stop there. Harriman also brokered a sham deal with Red C Parts, a New York-based engineering firm, convincing its owner to submit an invoice for work never performed. Harriman controlled the transaction from the NSK side, approved the fraudulent payment, and siphoned off a significant cut. These ghost contracts bled NSK dry while Harriman lived off the proceeds, all while posing as a trusted executive.

When Harriman abruptly left NSK in 2011, auditors quickly flagged suspicious transactions, triggering a federal investigation. Forensic accounting peeled back the layers, exposing Harriman’s dual role as manager and thief. But the cover-up extended beyond the embezzlement. Federal agents soon turned their attention to Stephen Savage, Harriman’s brother-in-law and operator of Freedom Engineering, another company that had received suspicious NSK contracts starting in 2008.

Savage wasn’t charged in the fraud—but he was charged with obstructing justice. In 2014, he produced falsified business records in response to grand jury subpoenas. When questioned by federal agents, he lied repeatedly about his dealings with Harriman and the legitimacy of the NSK invoices. His attempts to muddy the investigation landed him in court, where he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.

On December 12, 2016, Judge Sessions sentenced Stephen Savage to 12 months of probation and a $15,000 fine. The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont, underscores how insider fraud and family ties can conspire to undermine corporate integrity—and how justice, though delayed, eventually collects its due.