U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs | U.S. Department of Justice
Robert Namath Emory, a 54-year-old resident of Lancaster, has admitted guilt to wire fraud charges after misappropriating funds from his employer. The investigation uncovered that Emory, who led the accounting department at Mar Mac Protective Apparel in McBee, exploited the company's invoice system. This system attached blank checks to invoices for large vendors while payments were made electronically. Emory manipulated this by doubling invoice amounts and issuing electronic payments to vendors while using check numbers to write checks to himself or his personal LLC.
Emory's guilty plea pertains to one count from a 50-count indictment involving a fraudulent check for $9,583.79 in February 2021. His scheme allowed him to illegally acquire nearly $5 million. Notably, Emory had a prior conviction for wire fraud in 2008.
The potential consequences for Emory include up to 20 years in federal prison, a fine reaching $250,000, restitution, and three years of supervised release following imprisonment. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted his guilty plea and will determine his sentence after reviewing a report from the U.S. Probation Office.
The FBI Columbia Field Office and Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Winston Holliday and Scott Matthews are handling the prosecution.
