- Timothy Edgar was sentenced to 1.5 years for embezzling nnarly $1.8M from his employer.
- Prosecutors say he exploited his employer's trust and redirected payments for his own benefit.
- Edgar admitted guilt, showed remorse and agreed to pay back the funds in restitution, a memorandum says.
FARMINGTON — A Farmington man was sentenced Thursday to a year and a half in prison for embezzling nearly $1.8 million from his employer.
Timothy Sean Edgar, 44, was sentenced for wire fraud and money laundering after he pleaded guilty in March to the yearslong scheme.
"Edgar defrauded his employer to obtain money and property by stealing and lying," the U.S. Attorney's Office of Utah said in a statement.
Starting in 2021 and through October 2024, Edgar fraudulently opened a sales channel on an online marketplace and used his employment credentials to access the vendor portal, then redirected payments to his personal bank account, court documents said. He would then make payments back to his employer using his personal credit card.
Court documents refer to the company as "MME," and a LinkedIn profile for Edgar lists his employer as a small North Salt Lake paper company, My Mind's Eye. Edgar pleaded guilty just a week after he was indicted in March.
"The feeling of betrayal that the owner of the victim's small business must have felt when confronted with account discrepancies and evidence that Mr. Edgar, whom the owner previously described as a trusted employee and friend, had engaged in a yearslong scheme to embezzle funds for his own personal enrichment was likely devastating," a sentencing memorandum states.
Edgar initially confessed the crime to his employer, then voluntarily went to the U.S. Attorney's Office and admitted his wrongdoing, according to his sentencing memorandum. Edgar owned his actions, showed "tremendous remorse" and had a consistent attitude of acceptance of responsibility, while indicating a desire to pay back the victim and "pay his debt to society."
As part of the March 17 plea deal, Edgar agreed to pay back all $1,778,251 in restitution and prosecutors agreed to recommend Edgar be sentenced "25% below the low-end of the sentencing guideline range." In addition to his 18 months in prison, Edgar will serve three years of supervised release.
"This case is an example of a defendant who used the victim's trust against them," said acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah. "Mr. Edgar took advantage of a small business by building a strong relationship with his employer and gained access and control that he then used to perpetrate his fraud scheme."
