Bolivar man sentenced for railroad fraud scheme

A Bolivar man will spend two years in prison for a kickback scheme he engaged in while an employee of an Ohio railroad.

Ronald Zullig, formerly of Coshocton, Ohio, pleaded guilty July 1 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, two counts of mail fraud and one count of interstate transportation and sale of stolen property, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio. Zullig was sentenced Thursday in federal court.

Zullig was a repair manager for the railroad, according to the release, and was authorized to select independent contractors for repairs, upgrades, testing and new equipment, the release said.

According to court documents, Zullig had contractors submit invoices that were either completely fraudulent or contained inflated charges, in exchange for the contractor paying him a kickback. Zullig had the contractor mail a check payable to his wife, Jean Zullig. She deposited 45 checks into the couple's joint bank account during a four-year period, totaling $53,000. Jean Zullig also pleaded guilty in July to one count of conspiracy and was sentenced to three years probation along with restitution.

Ronald Zullig also admitted to having the railroad pay for personal work on his family farm by fraudulently billing the railroad for services not provided by an Arizona company, according to the release, as well as shipping and selling parts and equipment that belonged to the railroad to buyers in New York and Texas.

Zullig was sentenced to 24 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, along with $185,000 in restitution payments.[[In-content Ad]]