KC Reporter

A man from Nevada, Missouri has admitted in federal court to embezzling approximately $1.5 million from his employer and failing to report the stolen funds on his tax returns.

Justin R. Marquardt, 55, entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to charges of wire fraud and filing a false tax return.

According to the plea, Marquardt used his position as executive director at his company, where he had access to all financial accounts from 1994 to 2023, to steal about $1.5 million for personal use. He transferred money without authorization from business accounts into his own accounts and wrote himself unauthorized checks. The stolen funds were spent on personal expenses including travel and gambling both online and at casinos.

To hide the thefts, Marquardt omitted these transactions from the QuickBooks ledger provided to the company’s accountant and tax preparer. He also falsely recorded payments as legitimate business expenses in those records.

For the tax years 2017 through 2020 and again in 2023, Marquardt did not report any of the embezzled income on his federal tax returns.

"Under federal statutes, Marquardt is subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole on the wire fraud count and up to 3 years’ imprisonment on the filing a false tax return count. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as 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."

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Venneman following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations.