GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (From news reports) - Former Kimberly-Clark employee Daniel Kersten will spend three years in prison for his role in a scheme to steal more than $1.7 million from the company.
U.S. District Court Judge William Griesbach handed down the sentence Wednesday during a hearing in federal court in Green Bay.
Kersten, 46, of Neenah, was charged on April 24 with one count of wire fraud, which carried a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. His sentence includes three years of extended supervision and an order to repay $1.77 million to the company.
A tearful Kersten told Griesbach he got "way in over my head" as he tried to provide a better life for his family.
"I wanted to give them a good life, a good house," Kersten said. "I'm very sorry to K-C and to my family for bringing this shame and embarrassment on them."
According to court documents, Kersten was working as a consumer promotion manager when he issued fraudulent purchase orders to a North Carolina company, Rogue Two Marketing, between April 2016 and February 2017.
Kersten was authorized to spend no more than $200,000 with the company, but Kimberly-Clark paid $1.77 million to Rogue Two between July 2016 and February 2017.
Rogue Two owner Andrew Coleman, who was charged with wire fraud in May, submitted the invoices to Kimberly-Clark for services he claimed he provided. In reality, Coleman said, the business had provided little or no service.
As he received the money, Coleman would send Kersten 50 to 60 percent of the proceeds. Kersten fabricated invoices from a business he owns to make Coleman's bank transfers look legitimate, court documents state.
U.S. Attorney Matthew Jacobs said a three-year prison sentence reflects the deliberate nature of the fraud. He noted Kersten found an accomplice in North Carolina and continued to request larger amounts from Kimberly-Clark up until he was caught.
"The defendant betrayed his employer and when confronted, he lied about it," Jacobs said. "... This was not a case of need. It was a desire to improve his lifestyle."
Brad Preibe, Kersten's attorney, presented his client as someone who turned a corporate experiment that would have saved Kimberly-Clark a lot of money into a criminal act.
"There was a point, I think, where his intentions were pure," Preibe said. "But there also came a point where he knew it was wrong."
Griesbach said Kersten's desire for easy money could have supported a longer prison sentence.
"This was calculated. I don't think the evidence supports the idea this was (a move) to benefit the company," Griesbach said. "I don't see any evidence this was anything more than an excuse to draw money. ... He didn't need to steal from his employer."
