Former Tracker Marine employee pleads guilty to fraud

Former Tracker Marine LLC transportation manager Paul Hunting has pleaded guilty to defrauding the Springfield-based boat and trailer manufacturer, a division of Bass Pro Shops.

Hunting, 39, formerly of Lebanon, pleaded guilty March 7 before U.S. Magistrate Judge James C. England to three charges in a Feb. 28 indictment, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Hunting admitted that between January 2006 and August 2008 he conspired with an outside trucking company to defraud Tracker by inflating purchase orders and shipping invoices. During that time, Hunting said he helped cause more than 2,550 fraudulent invoices to be submitted to Tracker, which suffered a total loss of more than $850,000.

The charges in the indictment also alleged that husband-and-wife James Ivey and Kay Ivey, of Lebanon, owners of Lebanon-based J&M Trucking Inc., worked with Hunting in the conspiracy by saying their drivers traveled more miles than actual to transport Tracker Marine's boats and trailers to dealers nationwide, according to the release.

During the scheme, the co-conspirators allegedly split the misappropriated earnings three ways, and Hunting received a total of $265,775 for his part, the release said.

Hunting also pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy related to the cash payments he received from the proceeds of the fraud. Hunting also admitted he claimed some of those cash payments on his federal income tax return as income for a fraudulent catering business, and he pleaded guilty to one count of willful failure to make an income tax return for 2007.

According to the release, Hunting could face up to 26 years in federal prison with a fine of up to $850,000. As part of the plea agreement, Hunting agreed to pay $265,775 to Tracker Marine.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich and was investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.[[In-content Ad]]