CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former executive of a Beckley lumber company will spend more than three years in federal prison after admitting to embezzling more than $800,000.
James Matthew Miller, 43, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud on Dec. 6. He was sentenced Thursday to 41 months in federal prison.
Miller, as chief financial officer, issued payments to a sham vendor between around Dec. 31, 2007 and Aug. 30, 2013, and falsely inflated log inventories to conceal fraud.
He also admitted to creating false payment requests, then drafted and signed checks from the lumber company to the fake vendor. He was responsible for 160 checks totaling $822,396.63. Miller then emailed false reports to a lumber mill manager in Tennessee and a BB&T in Georgia.
As part of the sentencing, Miller will have to pay full restitution.