ATLANTA — A Texas couple, April and James Thompson, has been sentenced for mail fraud after stealing millions from an Atlanta-based business, a timberland investment advisory called Forest Investment Associates (FIA).
Between May 2011 and April 2019, April Thompson submitted more than 400 fraudulent invoices that totaled over $4 million to FIA for work her husband allegedly did for the company, according to the Department of Justice. Thompson never worked for FIA.
“The defendants were able to engage in this fraud for so long only because the victim trusted them,” U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said in a news release. “We will aggressively prosecute those who exploit their insider knowledge and the trust of others to steal.”
April and James were each sentenced to six years and eight months in prison, three years of supervised release and were ordered to pay $5,143,209 in restitution for a combined 12 counts of mail fraud.
“The negative impact of white-collar fraud is far-reaching, and the FBI constantly works to hold fraudsters accountable and protect businesses from further damages,” Philip Wislar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta, said. “The Thompsons chose self-interest and greed rather than to make an honest living, and for that, they will spend significant time in prison.”
