RTi Fraudster Turey Gets Four and a Half Years

Thomas Turey, the former Financial Controller at market research agency Rothstein-Tauber (RTi), has received a 54-month prison sentence for embezzling more than $3.4m from the company.

Turey (64) had worked at RTi for eighteen years, during which time his responsibilities included aggregating the company's monthly revenue and expenses, managing accounts receivable, and overseeing the company's bookkeeper. He was also responsible for the firm's general ledger and in charge of bank reconciliations.

In February, Turey was arrested after FBI agents uncovered a theft of $1.2m from the company's accounts. At the time it was alleged that during the previous three years, Turey had written out four checks to himself. However, it has since been found that between August 2005 and January 2013, Turey actually stole more than $3.4m from the company, by writing checks to himself and making numerous 'false entries' in the company's books and records to cover these actions. Most of these funds were then transferred into Turey's online brokerage account, to cover trading on stock market options.

On Tuesday, US District Judge Janet Hall imposed the sentence, which is to be followed by three years of supervised release. Assistant US Attorney Paul Murphy told the judge that over the course of 7.5 years, Turey had 'dipped into his employer's till' 345 times, embezzling thousands of dollars on each occasion. Murphy said this was made worse by the fact that Turey had stolen the money which he was employed to safeguard.

In addition, Murphy claimed that Turey's actions had affected its ability to offer bonuses and competitive pay packages for employees, as well as its hiring practices. Turey has been ordered to pay back the full amount of money stolen.