Man pleads guilty to fraud, Lenexa company lost more than $685,000

A North Carolina man pleaded guilty today to a fraud in which a Lenexa company he worked for spent more than $685,000 to buy electrical and wire cable that the man then sold to another company and pocketed the money.

48-year-old Coe Downing of Charlotte, N.C., pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.  In his plea, he admitted the crime took place while he worked as a project manager for Lenexa-based Wachter, Inc. Downing placed orders for electrical and wire cable from Anixter, Inc., one of Wachter’s suppliers. Wachter paid for the materials by sending a check to Anixter in Texas.  Meanwhile, Downing sold the cable to another company, Cabling Systems Supply, Inc. and kept the money.

In the plea agreement, Downing agreed to pay restitution of $25,000 to Wachter, Inc., and $660,323 to Wachter’s insurer, Federal Insurance Company.

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