A 54-year-old former Fairfax resident has been sentenced for wire fraud.
Ronald Rup, Jr., was sentenced for 27 months in jail, followed by three years of supervised release, according to a court judgment.
Rup owes restitution of $12,500 to Agri-Mark, which is listed as the first priority on the court documents, and more than $1.5 million to Houston Casualty Company, an insurance company. Agri-Mark is the parent company of Cabot Creamery.
Rup pleaded guilty to the wire fraud charge in November 2015, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney Vermont District.
Based on Rup’s ability to pay, the court has ordered that the total restitution be paid as a lump sum immediately upon his release. According to the court documents, Rup will also have to forfeit $1 million to the government.
Rup was the manager of Agri-Mark’s Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. While Agri-Mark was constructing new headquarters in Waitsfield, Rup was in charge of purchasing the new IT equipment for the facility, according to the press release.
Rup bought 100 new switches for Agri-Mark, some of which cost $8,500 or more, according to the press release. Rup stole the extra switches from Agri-Mark’s inventory and sold them over the Internet for about one-third of the original cost to a Texas-based IT equipment company between April 2012 and March 2014, according to the press release.
Rup had the Texas-based company deposit all proceeds from the sales to his personal Paypal account, totalling around $475,000, according to the press release. With this money he purchased jewelry, vehicles, motorcycles, snowmobiles and improvements to his home, according to the press release.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office.
When Rup is released from prison, he will have three years of supervised release. During this time, he will be prohibited from owning a weapon and must cooperate with random collection of his DNA, according to the judgment.
Rup was released from custody during a trial Nov. 5 on the condition that he appear in court when he was required to and serve any sentence imposed upon him, according to the order of release.
Rup was represented in the case by Brooks Macarthur. The prosecutor was Assistant U.S. Attorney, Gary Waples.
Rup has been ordered to report to prison by Sept. 13.
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