Wayne Soniat, Embezzlement via Ghost Employee Scheme, LA 2024

Wayne Soniat, 61, of New Orleans, admitted in federal court today to stealing $437,346 from a Louisiana food production company through a five-year ghost employee scheme. The warehouse manager at Company A, based in Metairie with a plant in Reserve, exploited his role overseeing temporary labor to funnel unauthorized wire transfers into fake worker accounts.

Soniat signed off on time sheets for contract workers who never showed up for work, creating a paper trail that triggered payments to staffing agencies and direct deposits to debit cards he controlled. Over the span of roughly November 2009 to October 2014, he executed approximately 200 electronic transfers, all without the company’s knowledge or consent. The stolen funds were used for personal expenses and cash withdrawals at local ATMs.

The fraud unraveled with a trail of false documentation and unreported income. Soniat failed to declare any of the embezzled money on his federal income tax returns, resulting in a tax loss to the U.S. government of $43,885. Investigators uncovered the deception through financial forensics and cross-referencing payroll records with actual site operations.

He pleaded guilty to two counts: wire fraud and making false statements on federal tax returns. The charges expose Soniat to up to twenty-three (23) years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for May 16, 2018, before Judge Feldman in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The investigation was spearheaded by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, with critical support from the United States Secret Service, the St. John the Baptist Sheriff’s Office, and the Louisiana Financial Crime Task Force. Their joint effort dismantled a scheme that relied on bureaucratic blind spots and internal oversight failures.

Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg is prosecuting the case. U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans commended the investigative teams, stating, ‘This conviction sends a clear message: stealing from employers and defrauding the federal government carries severe consequences.’ Soniat remains free pending sentencing.