Michael Meenan, 60, of Indianapolis, was sentenced on July 21 to 18 months in federal prison and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to wire fraud. He was also ordered to pay $543,521 in restitution.
According to court documents, Meenan served as the Director of Information Services for an Indianapolis-based non-profit organization from 1999 until 2021. In this role, he was responsible for purchasing technology equipment using an employee credit card. Beginning as early as July 2007, Meenan used his position to make personal purchases with the company-issued credit card. These unauthorized purchases included DSLR cameras and lenses, Apple and Southwest Airlines gift cards, cycling equipment, and Amazon gift card balance reloads. He used these balances to buy additional photography and cycling items for personal use and posted photos of some items on social media.
Meenan concealed the fraudulent transactions by creating doctored receipts that misrepresented personal items as legitimate technology purchases. For example, he altered a receipt to show a purchase of $1,100 worth of “Uninterruptible Power Supply Units (UPS)” when he had actually reloaded an Amazon gift card with that amount. In total, Meenan made approximately 1,173 unauthorized transactions using his employee credit card over several years.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Indianapolis Field Office investigated the case. U.S. District Judge James P. Hanlon imposed the sentence.
“Nonprofits are especially vulnerable to fraud because they often lack the resources to prevent or recover from financial losses. The defendant, a trusted employee for more than 20 years, stole money meant to support the organization’s mission and betrayed colleagues who had relied on him for decades,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Our SDIN Fraud Task Force—comprising federal prosecutors, special agents, forensic accountants, analysts and others—is firmly committed to combating fraud and abuse in all forms.”
“When individuals entrusted with access to an organization’s resources use that position for personal gain, they undermine the trust placed in them and harm the people and communities those organizations serve,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “The FBI is committed to investigating financial crimes and holding accountable those who abuse their positions for their own benefit.” U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Wood who prosecuted this case.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana serves as chief federal law enforcement officer under the Department of Justice; oversees operations across four divisions covering sixty southern counties; maintains offices in Evansville alongside its headquarters in Indianapolis; prosecutes federal crimes; defends court proceedings involving United States interests; collaborates with other agencies at all levels; and works toward protecting communities throughout its district, according to the official website.