Jerome Ruzicka and Jeffrey Taylor are going down for one of the most brazen corporate rip-offs in Minnesota history. A federal jury convicted the pair on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy after a six-week trial in Minneapolis, finding they stole more than $15 million from Starkey Laboratories, Inc., the global hearing aid giant based in Eden Prairie, and its founder William F. Austin. Ruzicka, the former president of Starkey, and Taylor, his longtime business associate, exploited their power, trust, and insider knowledge to bleed the company dry over nearly a decade.
From 2006 to September 2015, Ruzicka and Taylor ran a shadow operation built on deception, shell companies, and stolen opportunity. They controlled Archer Acoustics, a dummy entity disguised as a legitimate Starkey affiliate. Taylor falsely told Sonion, a major hearing aid component supplier, that Archer was connected to Starkey—unlocking deep discounts meant only for the parent company. Instead of using those parts for Starkey’s benefit, the duo bought them at a bargain and flipped them to rival manufacturers, pocketing at least $600,000 in illicit profits, commissions, and rebates.
The scheme went deeper. Ruzicka and Taylor secretly awarded themselves restricted stock in Northland US, LLC, Starkey’s retail arm created in 2002 by Bill Austin, who remained the sole owner. They funneled Starkey money into payments that lined their own pockets and those of co-conspirators, all while maintaining a facade of corporate legitimacy. Their web of sham companies masked the theft, but not well enough to fool the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service, who spent years peeling back the layers.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge John Tunheim presided over the high-stakes trial, which exposed how Ruzicka and Taylor treated Starkey like a personal piggy bank. Former Starkey CFO Scott Nelson and executive Jeff Longtain already pleaded guilty, turning state’s evidence and reinforcing the prosecution’s case. The government laid out reams of financial records, emails, and testimony tracing the fraud to boardrooms, bank accounts, and backroom deals—all orchestrated by men who were supposed to protect the company.
“It was pure greed that motivated these defendants,” declared U.S. Attorney Gregory G. Brooker after the verdict. “The jury cut through the complexity and distractions and got to the truth.” FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert C. Bone II emphasized that corporate fraud like this doesn’t just hurt one company—it threatens the integrity of the entire marketplace. IRS Special Agent in Charge Hubbard Burgess added that when executives treat corporations as personal ATMs, honest workers and taxpayers pay the price.
“The nation’s mail stream is not a tool for criminals,” said Craig Goldberg, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Denver Division, which includes Minnesota, underscoring the role mail fraud charges played in the takedown. The verdict sends a message: betrayal at the top won’t go unnoticed. Sentencing is pending, but the fall from grace for Ruzicka and Taylor is already complete.
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Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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