A Tennessee woman accused of stealing over $3 million from a New York trucking company has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.
The sentence was handed down yesterday to 55 year old Tracey Perrigan after she pled guilty to charges of wire fraud. She was also sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $3,251,419.65 in restitution to an unnamed New York based trucking company with a facility in Branchburg, New Jersey.
Former Employee Accused Of Authorizing Comcheks To Her Own Trucking Company
According to court documents, Perrigan worked for the Branchburg trucking facility at the same time that she co-owned Southern Cross Transport Tow and Recovery with her husband. Perrigan’s job duties included authorizing Comcheks for the Branchburg trucking company.
According to prosecutors, from 2007 through 2015, Perrigan authorized and issued Comcheks directly to Southern Cross, even though Southern Cross had no business with the Branchburg trucking company.
From the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Jersey: “Company A used the “Comchek” system, which enables clients to authorize and monitor fuel and repair expenditures by drivers in remote locations. As part of her employment duties, Perrigan was responsible for authorizing Comcheks drawn on Company A’s bank account. Before a Comchek can be presented for payment, the user must obtain a 23-digit code that authorizes the expenditure. The first five digits of the code are the unique number assigned to each Comchek customer … According to the complaint, Perrigan allegedly issued Comcheks with Company A codes directly to Southern Cross. The Comcheks appeared legitimate and were accepted for payment because Perrigan used her position with Company A to generate seemingly valid Company A codes.”
Perrigan was arrested by federal agents while she was working at the Branchburg facility in 2015.