Vickie McBride, Mail Fraud, Tennessee 2016

A Decatur County woman has been handed a lengthy prison sentence for her role in a lucrative mail fraud scheme that left a local business out of pocket more than $770,000.

Vickie McBride, 50, was office manager at Buck Building Supply, Inc., which had locations in Decatur and Henderson counties, Tennessee. Between 2007 and 2014, McBride concocted a scheme to steal funds from the company by accepting cash payments made on customers’ accounts and logging them as store credits in the company’s accounting software.

The scheme relied heavily on the United States Postal Service, with customers mailing in payments which McBride would then use for personal expenses. The business owners eventually discovered the fraud in 2014, revealing that McBride had stolen over $770,000 over the course of seven years.

McBride pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in October 2015, before Chief U.S. District Judge J. Daniel Breen. On Tuesday, March 1, 2016, Judge Breen handed down the sentence: 27 months incarceration and $770,829.22 in restitution.

The case was investigated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and the United States Postal Inspectors Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Wilson prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

Edward L. Stanton III, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence, stating that McBride’s actions had caused significant financial harm to the company and its owners. The sentence serves as a reminder of the consequences of engaging in such crimes.

The case highlights the need for businesses to implement robust internal controls to prevent such schemes from occurring in the first place. In this case, McBride’s actions went undetected for seven years, resulting in significant financial losses.

The sentence handed down to McBride marks a significant victory for the victims of her scheme and serves as a warning to others who may be tempted to engage in similar crimes.

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