Man pleads guilty to embezzling $1.8 million as office manager of CT-based small business

A Maine man pleaded guilty on Thursday to allegedly embezzling $1.8 million as an office manager of a small business based in Berlin, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Edward F. Ziegler II, 63, of Bridgton, Maine, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to one count of wire fraud and one count of tax evasion stemming from an alleged 15-year embezzlement scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

According to court documents, Ziegler was employed as the office manager for a small, family-owned business, identified in court documents in “Company A,” based in Berlin. Around 2006, Ziegler allegedly opened a bank account in his name. Over approximately 15 years, Ziegler allegedly took more than 400 checks, totaling approximately $1.8 million, from Company A’s customers and deposited them into the bank account, according to court documents.

Ziegler also allegedly made fraudulent entries in Company A’s books and record-keeping system to cover up the fact that he had diverted the checks, according to court documents. In addition, Ziegler allegedly failed to pay $173,003 in federal income taxes on his embezzled income from 2015 through 2019, court documents said.

Ziegler, who was arrested on March 16, faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud and five years for tax evasion.

Ziegler is free on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing scheduled for Feb. 3, 2023.