KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former Overland Park, Kansas, man pleaded guilty in federal court today to embezzling $3.1 million from his employer and failing to pay nearly $1 million in taxes owed to the federal government and the state of Kansas.
Richard Scott Simkins, 56, now residing in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to a federal information that charges him with one count of mail fraud and one count of filing a false tax return.
Simkins was the chief financial officer for Genesys Industrial Corporation, doing business as Genesys Systems Integrator in Kansas City, Missouri. Genesys engineers and designs automated production systems and production machinery.
By pleading guilty today, Simkins admitted that he embezzled at least $3.1 million from Genesys from 2013 to September 2020 by writing checks on the Genesys account to pay his personal expenses. In order to hide his thefts, Simkins recorded the checks to improper accounts. He also aided and abetted another Genesys employee’s embezzlement of approximately $325,000 from the company.
Simkins also admitted that he failed to report the stolen income on his federal income tax returns and his Kansas state personal income tax returns. The total federal tax loss caused by Simkins’s fraudulent behavior was at least $867,713; the total Kansas state tax loss was at least $129,131, for a total federal and state tax loss of at least $996,844.
Simkins spent his tax-free embezzled proceeds on retail purchases, including jewelry; travel to Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles, California; Orlando, Florida; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Estes Park, Colorado; household expenses, including pool and lawn care; school expenses, including college tuition, fraternity payments, and extracurricular activities; rent for himself and relatives; and personal mortgage payments.
Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Simkins must forfeit to the government his residential property in Overland Park and pay a money judgment that represents the proceeds of his embezzlement. Simkins also must pay restitution to Genesys in an amount to be determined by the court, and $867,713 in restitution to the IRS.
Under federal statutes, Simkins is subject to a sentence of up to 23 years in federal prison without parole. 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.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney. It was investigated by the FBI and IRS-Criminal Investigation.
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