Pipe Line Company's Project Coordinator at Roscoe, Texas Facility Sentenced to 33 Months in Federal Prison on Wire Fraud Conviction

LUBBOCK, TX - August 21, 2015 — Gerald Allen Williams, 55, of Roscoe, Texas, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $410,094.98 in restitution, following his guilty plea in April 2015 to one count of wire fraud stemming from a fraudulent invoicing scheme he ran while working at Chevron Pipe Line Company. The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

Judge Cummings ordered that Williams surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on or before 2:00 p.m. on September 25, 2015.

According to documents filed in the case, Williams worked as a Project Coordinator at Chevron Pipe Line Company’s Roscoe, Texas, facility. He was responsible for ensuring the completion of several construction and maintenance projects.

E.D. Walton Construction Company (EDW) out of Snyder, Texas, was a Chevron contractor that performed various construction and maintenance projects for Chevron.

Sometime around 2006-2007, according to plea documents filed, Williams approached EDW about a fraudulent invoicing scheme. EDW would create fictitious invoices and submit them to Chevron through the Arriba System, Chevron’s system for receiving and paying invoices. Williams would approve the fictitious invoices for payment, and the fictitious invoices would be processed for payment to EDW. Once EDW received payment for the fictitious invoices, it would pay Williams, in cash, the exact amount of the fictitious invoice. EDW did not receive any of the proceeds from the fictitious invoicing; Williams received all the proceeds. The scheme continued until approximately December 2011.

Williams admitted that he knowingly devised or intended to devise the scheme to defraud Chevron of money by means of false and fraudulent invoices. He further admitted he acted with the specific intent to deceive or cheat Chevron into thinking that EDW had completed various construction and maintenance projects for Chevron, when in fact, Williams knew EDW had not completed those projects.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey R. Haag prosecuted.

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Texas

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