The United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that two residents from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Brad William Ritter and Toby Le Mills, have been sentenced for their involvement in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Ritter received a sentence of 41 months, while Mills was sentenced to 33 months. Additionally, both defendants were ordered to pay restitution amounting to $3,797,500.
Ritter faces further financial penalties with a forfeiture money judgment of $2,029,678.33 and the seizure of $697,863.67. Mills has been ordered to pay an additional money judgment totaling $1,059,958.
The case stemmed from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS-Criminal Investigation. Both individuals pleaded guilty on April 3, 2024.
Investigations revealed that between 2018 and January 2022, Ritter exploited his executive position within an employee-owned business in Broken Arrow to submit fraudulent invoices through a company set up under Mills's name. These invoices billed the business for services never rendered by Mills’s company.
FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater stated: “The sentence imposed on these two defendants should serve as a stark reminder that criminal activity motivated by greed comes at a price.”
Christopher J. Altemus Jr., IRS-CI special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Office remarked: “Let this case serve as a warning: complex fraud schemes may be layered in lies and paperwork, but they are never beyond the reach of IRS Criminal Investigation special agents."
United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson commended those involved in bringing justice: “The wounds may not be physical, but the harm caused by fraudsters is still very real."
Chief U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White presided over the hearing where both defendants were allowed conditional release on previous bonds until they report to serve their sentences by June 23, 2025.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kara Traster, Joshua Satter, and Clay Compton represented the prosecution in this case.
