Nevada, Missouri, man gets 4 years for stealing nearly $1.4 million from employer

A man from Nevada, Missouri, will spend four years in federal prison after admitting he stole nearly $1.4 million from his employer.

Justin Marquardt, 55, will also be subject to three years of supervised release.

A federal judge also ordered him to repay $1,387,926 to his former employer and another $322,596 to tax authorities.

Federal prosecutors said Marquardt served as the company’s executive director and had access to its finances and bank accounts from 1994 through 2023.

Marquardt admitted transferring company money into his personal accounts and writing unauthorized checks to himself. Prosecutors said much of the stolen money went toward personal expenses, including travel, online gambling and casinos.

Authorities said Marquardt concealed the theft by leaving unauthorized transactions out of QuickBooks records provided to an accountant and recording fraudulent payments as legitimate business expenses.

He also admitted failing to report the stolen money on federal income tax returns for several years.