Tacoma man sentenced for embezzling $2 million in a case of ‘fraud motivated by greed’

A 42-year-old Tacoma man was sentenced to almost 12 years in prison Wednesday after embezzling over $2 million from his employer. John Whisenant was convicted of wire fraud and fleeing before his sentencing.

Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller called the scheme “a sophisticated fraud motivated by greed.” Whisenant made extravagant purchases, including luxury cars and $23,000 airline tickets, but Miller called this latest case the biggest.

Whisenant was arrested in July 2023 and pleaded guilty in March 2024. Just before his July 2024 sentencing date, he emailed his pretrial services officer, stating, “I’m not ready to go to jail yet.” The FBI arrested him on August 14, 2024.

At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Lauren King described Whisenant’s life as “a revolving door of crime and prison time” and said that his actions destroyed his “credibility before this court.”

Miller said that over 20 years, Whisenant committed 19 fraud offenses.

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Miller was accused of embezzling the $2 million through wire transfers

Whisenant began working at an online used car sales company in 2018 and was promoted to a role with access to the company’s bank accounts and accounting software. Prosecutors said Whisenant made 57 wire transfers between 2019 and 2021, totaling over $2 million into accounts he controlled. He disguised them as legitimate business expenses.

The fraud was discovered in January 2022 during a financial review by a bookkeeper. Whisenant resigned abruptly in February 2022. When confronted by the FBI, he attempted to blame the embezzlement on the company CEO. Prosecutors said the crime had a severe impact on the company.

Before fleeing, prosecutors recommended a seven-year prison sentence. Wednesday, they recommended 10 and a half years to account for Whisenant’s disregard for the law and the court. While on the run, Whisenant swapped SIM cards to avoid tracking and trafficked methamphetamine and other drugs to support himself.

This is Whisenant’s second federal fraud conviction. He was sentenced for wire fraud in 2017 and has a history of various credit card and check fraud crimes. Whisenant has agreed to make full restitution of $2,084,779.

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