Idaho man accused of defrauding Fry Foods through bogus invoice for COVID tests
A Meridian man has been accused of defrauding his employer, Fry Foods, under the guise of buying COVID-19 tests for employees, and of receiving fraudulent paychecks.
Douglas Wold — a 48-year-old human resources manager at Fry Foods in Ontario, Oregon — was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boise earlier this month on more than a dozen charges: 11 counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering.
Wold’s indictment was announced Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.
Starting in at least May of this year and continuing through August, Wold allegedly issued fraudulent payroll checks and then deposited them into bank accounts he controlled, according to prosecutors. Wold sent payroll requests to Fry Food’s accounting firm for employees he knew didn’t work at the company, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors allege that 11 paychecks ranging from around $1,000 to $1,600 each were sent to a limited liability company controlled by Wold.
In addition to the fraudulent checks, authorities also allege that Wold issued an invoice totaling nearly $40,000 to Fry Foods in the name of his business, Hala Lallo Health, to purchase coronavirus tests after an outbreak of the virus was discovered at a Fry facility in Weiser.
In reality, the tests were provided by another entity, which charged less than the $40,000 amount. Charging documents say Hala Lallo Health was a corporate entity that was registered in July 2020.
When Fry Foods issued a check to Hala Lallo, Wold allegedly deposited it into a bank account he controlled.
Prosecutors also say Wold transferred $69,116 in funds taken from Fry Foods in order to buy a speedboat and trailer, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Wold was arrested on Sept. 11 by IRS agents, according to court records. He was arraigned remotely on Sept. 14 and pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to online court records. Wold is set to go to trial starting at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 2 at the federal courthouse in Boise.
If convicted, Wold faces a maximum of up to 20 years in prison for each wire and mail fraud charge. The money laundering charge carries a potential of up to 10 years in prison. Each charge also carries a potential fine of up to $250,000.
It was not immediately clear whether Wold was still in his position as HR manager at Fry Foods as of Wednesday.
