Former IT Director sentenced for embezzling more than $1M from Warwick company

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The former IT Director of a Warwick metals fabrication and supply company was sentenced Monday to nearly three years in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha said.

According to Cunha, 47-year-old Juan Hicks, of New Bedford, pleaded guilty in March of this year to a charge of wire fraud after using his purchasing authority to carry out a decade-long fraud scheme that embezzled more than $1M from ATW Companies.

Court officials said Hicks’ activity came to light back in March of 2022, when his employer hired forensic analysts to find the source of a cyberattack and find vulnerabilities in its computer system.

During the investigation, Warwick police, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that Hicks had embezzled more than $1M from the company since 2012.

Officials said Hicks would defraud the company in various ways including;

• Using company credit cards for personal expenses
• Creating false invoices and expense reports for purchases that were never made
• Issuing company phones to himself and six family members, then enrolling the phones on the company’s service plan
• Submitting invoices and using company credit cards to purchase airline and entertainment tickets for himself, his family and friends
• Using company credit cards at retail stores and auto repair centers

Hicks was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of federal supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution totaling $1,042,000.