Joseph Edward Gallagher, the former CEO of AFL Telecommunications, has been sentenced to over three years in federal prison for wire fraud. Gallagher, 67, from Greenville, orchestrated a scheme to defraud his company by using corporate funds to build a personal beach house.
According to evidence presented during the sentencing hearing, Gallagher held the position of president and CEO at AFL Telecommunications, which is owned by Fujikura, Inc. Despite earning more than $2 million annually, he manipulated financial documents to make it appear that EPIC Development Group, LLC was consulting for AFL on government contracts and optical infrastructure. In reality, EPIC was constructing Gallagher's beach house on Kiawah Island.
Gallagher altered invoices submitted by EPIC for construction costs to suggest they were related to consulting services provided to AFL. He then submitted these falsified invoices for payment. Through this deceitful strategy, Gallagher secured approximately $2.5 million from AFL for his beach house project. It was noted that EPIC was unaware of Gallagher's fraudulent activities against his employer.
Acting U.S. Attorney Brook B. Andrews stated: “Gallagher’s actions represent a serious breach of trust. He abused his position of authority diverting millions from his company to fund a personal luxury.” Andrews emphasized that such acts would face significant repercussions regardless of an individual's status.
U.S. District Judge Jacquelyn D. Austin handed down a 41-month prison sentence and imposed a $34,000 fine on Gallagher. The matter of restitution will be addressed in a future hearing.
The FBI Columbia Field Office conducted the investigation into this case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Watkins handling the prosecution.
