Man allegedly embezzled about $4M from investment firm secretly using line of credit to hide it
A Florida man has been arrested and charged for allegedly embezzling approximately $4 million from his employer, according to federal authorities.
Paul Schnitzer, 51, of Clermont, Fla., is charged with one count of wire fraud. Schnitzer was arrested this week and was an initial appearance in the Middle District of Florida. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date, according to federal authorities.
The company he allegedly embezzled from is Florida-based portfolio one owned by a Massachusetts investment firm, according to federal authorities.
Authorities, citing the charging document, said Schnitzer worked as the finance director for the portfolio company and he allegedly made more than 90 transfers, “each of tens of thousands of dollars disguised as ‘equity distributions,’” from the company’s operating account into his personal account, between January 2023 and May 2024.
“To hide these transfers, Schnitzer allegedly provided falsified financial reports with inflated cash balances for the company to the investment firm. It is also alleged that Schnitzer secretly used a line of credit to replenish the company’s operating account after he had stolen it,” federal authorities said in a statement.
Schnitzer could face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, federal authorities said.