Wisconsin Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Wire Fraud Scheme

Robert E. Carter, 45, of Eau Claire, was sentenced to three years for wire fraud involving falsified financial statements.Photo byRobson Hatsukami MorganonUnsplash

Robert E. Carter, 45, of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was sentenced on October 17, 2024, to three years in prison for wire fraud and attempted wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Wisconsin announced today.

According to the office, Carter's fraud scheme began in 2018 when he pretended to be interested in purchasing a trucking company based in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Carter fabricated elaborate stories about owning private jets and a yacht, convincing the company’s owners that he intended to buy their trucking and brokerage businesses for $10 million.

Carter sent the owners a letter of intent, which required them to provide sensitive business information, including financial statements, under the pretense of due diligence. After later backing out of the deal, Carter kept the financial statements for two years.

In 2020, Carter altered the financial statements he had obtained and made them appear as if they belonged to his businesses.

The department noted that he submitted the falsified documents to an equipment leasing company to fraudulently obtain three semi-trucks and two trailers.

At the same time, Carter downloaded financial statements from the Internet belonging to a charitable trust in Iowa, altered them to appear as his own, and submitted the fake trust financial statements to a second equipment leasing company in an attempt to lease ten more semi-trucks.

The charges against Carter followed an investigation by IRS Criminal Investigations and the FBI, with assistance from the Office of the U.S. Trustee for the Western District of Wisconsin, according to the department.