CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former Beckley lumber company executive pleaded guilty Wednesday to embezzling more than $800,000.
James Matthew Miller, 42, entered the guilty plea to two counts of wire fraud. He formerly worked as an executive until September 2013 and was responsible for overseeing log inventories.
Miller admitted issuing payments to a sham vendor, a close friend, and falsely inflating log inventories between Dec. 31, 2007 to Aug. 30, 2013. He also created a log vendor that never hauled or delivered logs to the company.
Miller was responsible for 160 checks from the company to the fictitious vendor. He admitted he hid the wire fraud by submitting company reports, as well as emailing the statements to a Tennessee lumber mill manager and a BB&T in Georgia.
Miller is scheduled to be sentenced March 15, and faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each count.