Keller, Texas – A North Texas corporate finance director has been sentenced to four years in federal prison after being convicted of wire fraud for the second time.
John Robert Rush, 56, of Keller, pleaded guilty to the charges in April, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
On Wednesday, he was sentenced to 51 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution to his victims.
Federal prosecutors said Rush was the chief financial officer of a logistics and transportation company in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The company handled cargo for the U.S. military, defense contractors, disaster relief organizations and others.
From 2016 to 2020, Mr. Rush transferred funds from the company’s bank account to his own account. He altered records in the company’s accounting software to make those transfers appear like regular payments to vendors.
And while Mr. Rush used the funds for personal gain and to pay down his own debts, the company’s major shareholders said they were facing “nearly unpayable debt.” The company was forced to lay off employees and close one of its related businesses.
But defrauding businesses appears to be nothing new for Rush.
He was convicted in 1994 of both wire fraud and conspiracy to commit counterfeit check fraud.
Prosecutors said the court considered Rush’s criminal record when denying his request for a reduced sentence.
