Mobile man faces federal sentencing for defrauding employer

A Mobile County man is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court Feb. 17 for defrauding his employer out of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars over several years. According to a plea agreement reached late last year, 34-year-old Alexander Paul Fleming, a former project manager at G.C. Specialties Inc. (GCS), admitted he registered several email accounts using aliases and established a private PayPal account to fraudulently invoice his own company out of more than $650,000 between April 2014 and February 2020.

In a statement of facts, Fleming acknowledged he “devised and executed a scheme to create fake vendor email accounts in the name of real vendors” and a “fake PayPal account with multiple fake electronic alter egos.” Then, Fleming “created fraudulent invoices to GCS in the names of real vendors and assigned them to the projects of GCS” and then used the company’s credit card to pay the fake invoices.

Initially, Fleming transferred funds from the PayPal account to his personal account and later “created other fake documents including file delivery receipts as needed to conceal his scheme.” Fleming also used the company credit card to pay for unauthorized personal expenses.

“Approximately $97,586.23 of the illegal proceeds … are traceable to the defendant’s residence [in Theodore], for mortgage payments, improvements and other costs associated with maintenance,” the plea states.

Prosecutors have agreed to allow Fleming to keep the house so his spouse and child are not displaced, but Fleming has agreed to pay restitution totaling $715,528, including a lump-sum payment of $200,000 due before sentencing, “obtained from his friends and family” and “equal to his equity interest in the family’s home.” The balance is also due immediately, but the court will allow a payment schedule in accordance with Fleming’s ability to pay.

Speaking on behalf of the company, Financial Controller Don Ellington said the fraud stung both personally and professionally. Fleming was a lifelong family friend of the owners of GCS, and his theft and deception “destroyed a very long, personal relationship that will never be restored.”

“He really hurt us badly,” Ellington said. “It’s taken us a while to restore confidence with clients and customers.”

Ellington said Fleming was hired in September 2010 and due to his close personal relationship with the owners, “had a lot of flexibilities and control” no one else in a similar position would have received. Still, he said the scheme was a “multiyear embezzlement, which Alex took great lengths to hide and camouflage.”

Ellington joined the company in 2018 and began asking questions about Fleming’s billing and collections the following year. Fleming, he said, couldn’t answer questions, provided false information and fabricated a story about his credit card account being hacked.

Ellington said the company eventually approached the Mobile Police Department’s (MPD) Cyber Division and MPD specialists arrived to investigate with the U.S. Secret Service. Allegedly, the Secret Service had already flagged the company’s account for Fleming’s potentially fraudulent transactions. The company agreed to open its books and let the Secret Service fully investigate.

“They ran with it and did a six-month investigation with a forensic accountant and many, many subpoenas,” Ellington said. “He never gave any rationale for the what and the why. We gave him more than one opportunity to admit it and he never did … his lifestyle was far beyond what this company could afford.”

Fleming has pleaded guilty to a single charge of wire fraud, a felony, and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. U.S District Court Judge Callie Granade is presiding.

Fleming is being represented by former U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown, who is currently a shareholder at Maynard Cooper & Gale. In a pre-sentencing report, Brown clarified information regarding Fleming’s medical records, which allegedly includes a misdiagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“He was previously misdiagnosed … and prescribed medications which may have led to a substance-induced mood disorder that brought on mania, impulsive behavior and executing poor judgment,” the motion read. Fleming has since been properly diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Brown wrote, and the previous medication for ADHD may have exacerbated his symptoms. Defense counsel is reportedly recommending a sentence in the 27-33 month range.