Ex-CFO gets nearly 4 years for embezzling $1.9M
A 53-year-old Fairfield man will serve more than three years in prison for embezzling nearly $2 million while working as chief financial officer of a firm that managed several Fairfield auto dealerships, among others in the Bay Area.
Christopher Firle, who pleaded guilty in 2021 in a Sacramento federal courtroom, heard Judge John A. Mendez on Tuesday hand down a sentence of three years, and five months for a fouryear embezzlement scheme, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a press statement. According to court documents, Firle was CFO of Price Simms Holdings, a firm led by Adam Simms and Tom Price, whose main offices are in Larkspur but manage Mercedes Benz of Fairfield and Ford Lincoln Fairfield, and also dealerships in Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, and Marin County.
From January 2016 through September 2019, Firle misappropriated more than $1.9 million from the company, noted Talbert, lead prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice's Eastern District of California.
He said Firle carried out his embezzlement scheme in multiple ways. They included using company credit cards to pay for more than $750,000 in personal expenses. The unauthorized charges included tickets to sporting events and purchases at several retail stores, including Bergdorf Goodman, Chanel, Hermès, Nordstrom and Tiffany & Co., all considered high-end merchants.
Firle also initiated over 30 unauthorized wire transfers from the company to a family member. Those transfers totaled more than $500,000. Additionally, he issued more than 30 unauthorized company checks to himself that totaled over $165,000, and he withdrew more than $50,000 from a company account without authorization. Finally, Firle issued himself excess bonus payments totaling almost $160,000.
As part of his guilty plea, Firle, whose Linkedin profile at one time showed that he led C12 Consulting and earned an MBA from Mississippi State University, agreed to pay restitution of nearly $2 million to his former employer. He also agreed to forfeit nearly $1.7 million to the United States.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Thuesen prosecuted the case, which stemmed from an investigation by the FBI, said Talbert.