COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former trucking logistics employee was sentenced to five years in prison for a scheme to defraud his employers of nearly half a million dollars, the Grimy Times has learned.
John E. Kelly, 63, of Columbus, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison for mail fraud and tax evasion, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Ohio. He was also ordered to pay full restitution to the victim companies and the IRS.
Kelly pleaded guilty in May 2018 to one count each of mail fraud and tax evasion. According to court documents, Kelly worked for two different trucking logistics companies – CEVA Logistics and Container Port Group, Inc. – in 2014 and 2015.
During that time, Kelly defrauded the two companies by causing them to pay for bogus advertising expenditures from a pair of sham companies he set up for his own gain. Kelly billed the trucking companies more than half a million dollars for advertising services that were never actually provided.
The scheme, which lasted from approximately March 2014 through March 2015, resulted in a loss of $461,000 from CEVA and Container Port Group. Kelly was terminated from CEVA in April 2015 and then hired by CPG, where he began the scheme again, billing the company for fake advertising services in the amount of $29,461.
Kelly created email accounts and used fake identities as well as phony corporate registrations and Taxpayer/Employer Identification Numbers when corresponding with CEVA and CPG to conceal his involvement with the nominee companies.
“Kelly went to great lengths to perpetrate his years-long fraud,” U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman said. “He formed and used multiple shell companies and created fictitious ‘employees’ of those companies to interact with real employees at his legitimate employers. Although his means were sophisticated, at bottom Kelly was a thief. He stole from the companies that employed him and from the IRS. For that, he deserves the five years in prison that the district court imposed today.”
Kelly also failed to file an individual or business tax return for 2014 and 2015, resulting in a tax due and owing of at least $70,500 for each year. U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI and USPIS, as well as Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton, who is prosecuting the case.
Kelly was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham on Thursday, May 24, 2018. The defendant was also ordered to pay full restitution to the victim companies and the IRS.
Defendant: John E. Kelly
Criminal Charges: Mail fraud and tax evasion
City and State: Columbus, Ohio
Crime Date: 2014-2015
Sentence: 60 months in prison
Amount: $461,000 loss from CEVA and CPG; $70,500 tax due and owing for each year
Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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