Michael Boyce, Wire Fraud and Tax Evasion, Delaware 2023

Michael Boyce, 57, of Middletown, Delaware, is headed to federal prison for 60 months after being sentenced yesterday on charges of wire fraud and tax evasion. The former IT director stole more than $3.2 million from his employer over a 12-year span by submitting fake invoices for nonexistent computer equipment, using his position of trust to orchestrate one of the most brazen workplace frauds in recent Delaware history.

Court documents reveal that beginning in 2004, Boyce exploited his role in the company’s Information Technology Department to create and submit fraudulent invoices through third-party vendors. He then falsified company records to confirm the delivery of goods that were never ordered or received. Once payments were issued, the vendors funneled 90% of the money directly to Boyce, who quietly siphoned millions while climbing the corporate ladder to become IT director.

The scheme went undetected for over a decade, during which Boyce laundered more than $3.2 million in stolen funds. Despite reporting portions of the illicit income, he evaded payment of over $1 million in federal income taxes between 2012 and 2015. His financial deception finally unraveled when federal investigators began probing irregularities in vendor transactions and internal procurement logs.

Boyce pleaded guilty to the charges on November 27, 2018, admitting to a calculated fraud that undermined the integrity of his employer’s financial systems and betrayed the trust of coworkers and supervisors alike. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Andrews handed down the 5-year sentence in Wilmington, emphasizing the severity of abusing corporate authority for personal gain.

“Today was a day of reckoning for a defendant who, over the course of a dozen years, stole millions of dollars from his employer to line his own pockets,” said David C. Weiss, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware. “His calculated and callous conduct not only hurt the company’s bottom line, but abused the trust of his co-workers and the supervisors who promoted him, all the time unaware of the theft.”

IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Guy Ficco added, “Michael Boyce omitted a significant portion of his income; and in doing so, evaded over half a million dollars in taxes.” The case was jointly investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf, who called it a textbook example of white-collar crime exposed by relentless federal scrutiny.

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