A notorious electrician from Texas, Randall Varian Hanks, 46, has been handed a 97-month prison sentence for masterminding a brazen false billing scheme that netted him over $1.5 million.
The scheme, which was orchestrated by Hanks while working for two area oilfield services companies, involved generating fraudulent service tickets and invoices for parts and services that he never provided to the companies’ customers.
According to court records, Hanks, the former owner and operator of Sandhills Electric, Inc., generated over $1.5 million in fraudulent service tickets and invoices between June 2013 and May 2016. Both oilfield service companies paid Hanks and then billed their respective customers for the parts and services Hanks claimed to have provided.
Furthermore, testimony revealed that Hanks received more than the applicable threshold in personal income each year, yet failed to file income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service for the calendar years 2013, 2014, and 2015, resulting in tax losses to the U.S. Government of nearly $500,000.
In addition to the prison term, United States District Judge David Counts ordered that Hanks pay $1,786,559.68 restitution and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.
Judge Counts also ordered that Hanks forfeit to the Government his Andrews County residential property, agreeing that it was proceeds generated from the defendant’s fraudulent scheme.
The FBI Oilfield Theft Task Force and IRS-CI agents investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Glenn Harwood prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.
The sentencing hearing took place in Midland, Texas, on [date not specified]. At the end of the hearing, Judge Counts remanded Hanks into the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to begin serving his prison term.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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