Toledo, Ohio – Darren Barr, a 39-year-old resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 57 months in prison following his guilty plea in a sophisticated fraud scheme. From March 2018 to November 2020, Barr and his accomplices defrauded the Lucas County Auditor’s office, swindling over $622,000 by impersonating legitimate vendors.
The fraudulent operation involved meticulous research and manipulation of public information to emulate existing vendors that had existing approvals to work with Lucas County. Barr, along with his collaborators, used this data to craft email accounts that mirrored those of genuine businesses. Furthermore, they established fraudulent bank accounts by utilizing counterfeit State of Pennsylvania and Internal Revenue Service corporate documents to support their deceptive facade.
Once their setup was complete, the group executed their scam by sending legitimate-looking invoices to Lucas County employees. These emails contained directives urging the employees to reroute vendor payments to the fraudulent accounts they controlled. Unaware of the deceit, the county employees complied, believing they were fulfilling standard payment procedures to recognized vendors.
U.S. District Judge James G. Carr for the Northern District of Ohio handed down Barr’s sentence, which also includes three years of supervised release following his imprisonment. Additionally, Barr is mandated to repay $622,793.62 in restitution for the financial damages inflicted upon the Lucas County Auditor’s office.
The swift movement of funds upon receipt into their sham accounts was a calculated effort by Barr and his team to obscure the origins and illicit nature of the funds. Their efforts to launder the money through various other accounts they controlled were part of a broader strategy to conceal their criminal activities.
The FBI Cleveland Division conducted the investigation leading to Barr’s prosecution, handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Melching of the Northern District of Ohio.
