DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A former employee at agriculture and industrial heavy equipment maker Vermeer Corp. in Pella, as well as three others, have been indicted on fraud charges.
Federal prosecutors in Iowa say 54-year-old Scott Whitehead, 38-year-olld Natalia Sheps, 63-year-old Boris Vaysman, and 57-year-old Ana Hallon Gallego were all indicted Tuesday. Investigators say Whitehead was maintenance manager at Vermeer when he received kickbacks from two chemical companies over a five-year period. He’s accused of approving $3.6 million in invoices for products that Vermeer never received.
Whitehead is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Sheps and Vaysman, who had worked at All Industrial Chemical, and Gallego, who had worked at National Chemical Company, are charged with conspiracy and money laundering.
All four are scheduled to appear in Des Moines’ federal court on May 15.
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