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A former IT manager has been jailed for stealing almost $1 million from a Kent company.
Paul Welch, 44, will serve 18 months in prison for wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced Thursday.
Welch, who previously lived in Laguna Niguel, California, worked as an IT manager for a manufacturing company in Kent County and used various means to steal more than $950,000.
“This was not a crime of desperation,” U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead said during the sentencing hearing, according to the prosecutor’s office. “You used these funds to maintain a lifestyle you could not afford.”
According to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd, Welch used the money to buy luxury goods such as expensive hotels, first-class flights and even a Porsche for his wife as a Mother’s Day gift.
“His theft resulted in the company laying off employees, reducing or eliminating bonuses, and delaying projects. These effects justified his incarceration,” Floyd said.
Welch worked at the company from 2011 to 2024 and was promoted to information technology manager in 2018, according to case records.
Welch’s scheme began with unauthorized Amazon purchases
Between 2017 and 2023, Welch used the company’s Amazon Business account to make unauthorized purchases on Amazon totaling at least $43,000. He mainly purchases electronic products such as televisions and laptops for personal use.
In 2019, Welch began using his company credit card to make personal purchases at Apple, Alaska Airlines, Instacart and Best Buy. The total value of these purchases is at least US$60,000.
Then, in January 2021, Welch began making payments to himself, disguised as payments to a computer services company.
“Welch created a series of email addresses and payment processing accounts using a business name that was very similar to that of a legitimate computer services company in Washington,” the attorney’s office said. “Welch then used a company credit card to make payments to the computer services company under the pretext that the company provided IT equipment and services to the victim company. However, the legitimate computer services company had no relationship with Welch and never provided any services or equipment to the victim company.”
The payments were deposited directly into accounts controlled by Welch, who transferred approximately $879,175 from company accounts to his own accounts between 2021 and 2024.
The company made multiple attempts to verify Welch’s identity, but Welch provided false or misleading information each time.
“When Welch was asked to submit invoices to substantiate his allegations, he emailed forged documents that looked like invoices from legitimate computer services companies,” the attorney’s office said. “Sometime in 2023, an accounting employee at the victim company discovered personal purchases on Welch’s corporate credit card. Welch claimed the charges were unintentional and said he would reimburse the company. Welch never reimbursed the charges and continued to defraud the company with unauthorized personal purchases and more false vendor charges.”
In 2024, employees confronted Welch and the company fired him
In January 2024, company employees confronted Welch about the allegations. Welch claimed the supplier was the company’s true supplier and was subsequently fired.
Between 2017 and 2024, Welch secretly filed at least 250 fraud charges and at least 140 unauthorized purchases.
The attorney’s office noted that while Welch earned about $950,000, the company lost about $982,520 in transaction fees.
“As an information technology manager, Mr. Welch was trusted by his employer, which gave him access to business accounts and company credit cards,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office. “Welch betrayed that trust and stole nearly $1 million from the company through years of fraudulent transactions for personal gain.”
“Despite being repeatedly confronted about Welch’s illegal spending, Welch concealed his scheme with false documents or stated that he had no intention of pressing charges. When this type of theft occurs, the FBI diligently tracks the funds to ensure that fraudsters are held accountable for their crimes,” he continued.
Welch has agreed to repay the company.
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