SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield man has been caught red-handed in a brazen embezzlement scheme, pleading guilty to swiping over $400,000 from a trust fund.
Ray Leonard Marple, 61, a certified public accountant with his own accounting firm since 1999, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of making a false federal tax return before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush.
Marple admitted to embezzling approximately $432,981 from a revocable trust account from July 7, 2017, through May 3, 2023, following the death of the grantor. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Marple would have been entitled to trustee fees less than $2,500 annually, or $17,500 total for the seven years, significantly less than he withdrew from the trust account for personal purposes.
Marple used the proceeds from the fraud scheme to purchase his residential property in Springfield, a move that now looks like a calculated risk. He also admitted to under-reporting his income on federal tax returns from 2018 to 2020, earning nearly $177,000 in taxable income that was not reported over those three years, for which he owes $59,622 in federal income taxes.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Marple must pay up to $415,481 in restitution to the trust and at least $59,622 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service, as ordered by the court. Marple also must forfeit to the government a money judgment of $415,481 and his Springfield residential property.
Marple is looking at a maximum sentence of up to 23 years in federal prison without parole, as prescribed by Congress. However, the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the FBI.
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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