Former Roadrunner Transportation chief financial officer sentenced to 24 months in prison for role in fraud scheme
The former chief financial officer of a trucking and logistics company will serve 24 months in prison for his role in a securities and accounting fraud scheme at the company.
Peter Armbruster, the longtime chief financial officer of Roadrunner Transportation Systems, was sentenced to 24 months incarceration and one year probation by U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly Tuesday.
Armbruster, 62, was convicted this summer on four counts of violating federal securities laws. He committed securities fraud, falsified the company's books and records and misled Roadrunner's auditors, according to court documents. Armbruster was the CFO of Roadrunner from 2005 through April 2017.
Armbruster was charged along with former Roadrunner executives Bret Naggs and Mark Wogsland. Naggs and Wogsland were acquitted.
This summer, a jury convicted on Armbruster on four counts: acts to fraudulently influence accountants, false entries in a public company's books, records, and accounts and securities fraud. The jury acquitted Armbruster of 11 counts.
The complex scheme played out from 2013 to 2017 as Roadrunner executives shared inaccurate financial information with shareholders, lenders and the investing public.
During sentencing, Kennelly called Armbruster a "good person who has committed serious crimes." Three friends of Armbruster spoke as character references at the hearing.
The judge's decision to incarcerate Armbruster for 24 months was between the government request of 144 months and his defense's request for home confinement.
The judge said that the amount of money lost in dollars is not an exact match for culpability in this case. He also determined that home detention was not appropriate.
The amount to be paid in restitution will be determined at a later date. Armbruster will surrender at the end of January. The judge said he would recommend that Armbruster be placed at RCI Oxford in Adams County.
Roadrunner was formerly headquartered in Cudahy. It moved to the Chicago area in 2017.
Sarah Hauer can be reached at shauer@journalsentinel.com or on Instagram @HauerSarah and Twitter @SarahHauer. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter Be MKE at jsonline.com/bemke.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Roadrunner CFO sentenced to 24 months in prison for fraud
