From the U.S Attorney:
FORMER CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER OF STAFFING FIRM SENTENCED TO MORE THAN TWO YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR EMBEZZLING $510,000
CHICAGO — The former Chief Financial Officer of a staffing firm has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for embezzling more than $510,000 from the firm.
CHARLES NELSON misappropriated the money in 2018 and 2019 while working in the firm’s Chicago office.
Nelson made a series of unauthorized credit card purchases for his personal benefit, initially on meals and travel and later on jewelry, gold, and renovations of his personal residence.
Nelson used the fraud proceeds to purchase many extravagant items, including Cartier and Rolex watches, a gold and diamond bracelet, and high-end appliances for his home.
Nelson executed the fraud scheme by circumventing multiple corporate controls over expenditures.
Nelson, 67, of Valparaiso, Ind., pleaded guilty last year to a federal wire fraud charge.
On Aug. 4, 2025, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey imposed a 27-month prison sentence and ordered Nelson to pay $510,319 in restitution.
The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Dai Tran, Special Agent-in-Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Chicago Field Office.
“Defendant squandered the company’s money on extravagant items, such as gold, coins, jewelry, trips, and meals,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Kelly argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.
“His offense was not an isolated lapse in judgment or simple mistake. It was a carefully orchestrated pattern of theft from a company that trusted defendant to serve as CFO, and his offense took a financial and emotional toll on the honest, hard-working employees left in its wake.”
