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.
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