Eau Claire man sentenced to 3 years for wire fraud

MADISON, Wis. (U.S. Attorney Timothy M. O’Shea, Western District of Wisconsin PRESS RELEASE) – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Robert E. Carter, 45 years old , Eau Claire, Wisconsin was sentenced to three years in prison on October 17, 2024 by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley for bank fraud and attempted bank fraud. Carter was convicted of these charges on July 16, 2024, following a jury trial.

Carter’s fraud scheme began in 2018 when he feigned interest in acquiring a trucking company headquartered in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. After telling elaborate lies about owning private jets and a personal yacht, Carter convinced the owners that he wanted to buy their transportation and brokerage companies for $10 million. Carter then sent the owners a letter of intent demanding that they provide Carter, under the guise of due diligence, with the companies’ sensitive business information, including financial statements. Carter eventually informed the companies’ owners that Carter should withdraw from the deal; however, he kept the annual accounts for two years.

In 2020, Carter deliberately altered the financial statements he fraudulently obtained from the Fond du Lac-based companies, making it appear as if the documents belonged to Carter’s companies. Carter then submitted the false financial statements to an equipment leasing company so Carter could fraudulently obtain three semi-trucks and two trailers.

While defrauding the first leasing company, Carter simultaneously downloaded financial statements from the Internet belonging to an Iowa charity. Once again, Carter deliberately altered these financial statements so that the documents appeared to belong to Carter’s trust. Carter then submitted the bogus trust’s financial statements to a second equipment leasing company in an attempt to fraudulently lease ten more semi-trucks.

In sentencing Carter, Judge Conley highlighted Carter’s criminal history, including prior fraud convictions.

The charges against Carter were the result of an investigation conducted by IRS Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Office of the US Trustee for the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chadwick M. Elgersma and Megan R. Stelljes prosecuted this case.

PRESS RELEASE

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