Ron Craig Estes, Mail Fraud and Embezzlement, Ohio 2026

Cincinnati, Ohio - In a shocking case of corporate greed, Ron Craig Estes, owner of R&R Steel, LLC, has pleaded guilty to obtaining employee safety training certificates by fraudulent means and embezzling funds from the company's 401(k) retirement benefit plan.

Estes, the mastermind behind R&R Steel, devised a scheme in 2015 to skirt Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements by purchasing fake employee training certifications for $800. The 10 fake training certificates were bought to avoid the costs and time associated with ensuring that all of the company's employees had completed appropriate safety training. R&R Steel received the $450,000 contract to do the work for the 8th and Sycamore project in Cincinnati.

Court documents also reveal that Estes embezzled between $15,000 and $40,000 from the company's 401(k) retirement benefit plan established for the workers. Estes completed distribution forms for workers who had left the company and forged the participant's signature on the distribution checks in order to cash the checks for his own benefit and use.

In addition to entering his guilty pleas before Judge Timothy S. Black on January 28, Estes agreed to a money judgement of $25,000, and to pay restitution to any victims as determined by the court at sentencing. Mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and embezzlement has a statutory maximum sentence of five years.

The court will determine a sentence based on federal sentencing guidelines which take into account the amount of loss, the number of victims and the victims' vulnerability. Sentencing has been set for May 13th.

Victims are encouraged to contact Victim Witness Specialist Krista Zeller, at Toll Free: 888-283-5715 or Krista.Zeller@usdoj.gov, by March 3 for more information about submitting claims for restitution.

The U.S. Attorney office and the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and Employee Benefits Security Administration announced the plea. Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa Taiwo is representing the United States in this case.

Defendant: Ron Craig Estes, Owner of R&R Steel, LLC

Criminal Charges: One count of mail fraud and one count of theft from an employee benefit plan

City and State: Cincinnati, Ohio

Date: January 28, 2024

Sentence: Sentencing set for May 13th, with a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison for mail fraud and up to five years for embezzlement

Dollar Amounts: $450,000 contract, $15,000 - $40,000 embezzled from 401(k) plan, $25,000 money judgement

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/construction-company-owner-pleads-guilty-mail-fraud-involving-worker-safety-and