A federal grand jury has indicted a former driver recruiter for two Missouri trucking companies on five counts of wire fraud.
The indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, claims that Michelle Serth-Stein, 50, of Smithton, Illinois, submitted fake recruiting expenses for reimbursement from October 2017 to January 2019 while working as a driver recruiter for Midwest Systems. The intermodal logistics company, headquartered in St. Louis, has 61 power units and 46 drivers.
After she was fired in January 2019, Serth-Stein was hired by another St. Louis carrier, AA Express Inc., as a recruiter and to oversee driver safety, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
From March 2019 to August 2019, federal investigators claim, Serth-Stein diverted funds from her employer into her personal account before her employment ended.
AA Express has 121 power units and drivers.
Prosecutors allege she stole nearly $121,000 from the two companies to pay for retail expenses and personal loans.
She hasn’t entered a plea to the wire fraud charges.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Serth-Stein faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Click for more articles by FreightWaves Senior Editor Clarissa Hawes.
Trucking company owner indicted in PPP loan fraud, Ponzi scheme
Feds urge appeals court to reconsider ruling in Pilot fraud case
Ex-payroll clerk accused of swiping funds from trucking company
