GREENWOOD, Ind. — A federal judge ordered a Greenwood man to spend six years in prison and pay back more than $14 million after embezzling money from his employer to fund a lavish lifestyle.
A federal grand jury charged Daniel Fruits, 47, in December 2020 for his alleged role in three separate fraud schemes.
Fruits was hired to run a trucking company based in Greenwood after a Kentucky-based company invested more than $14 million into it. Court documents say Fruits stole more than $14 million from January 2015 to June 2019 to buy upscale personal items, including real estate, expensive jewelry, private jet flights and high-end escort services.
He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in July 2022.
"Mr. Fruits stole an outrageous sum of money to fuel an extravagant lifestyle, concealing his crimes with years of lies and false documents," said United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana Zachary A. Myers. "Complex economic crimes such as these devastate the finances and security of businesses and individuals. The serious prison sentence imposed today demonstrates that this U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, IRS-CI, and all our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to hold these criminals accountable."
In addition to the prison time and restitution, the judge sentenced Fruits to three years of probation following his prison sentence.
In July 2021, while Fruits was out on pretrial release for his federal case, he was charged with separate fraud offenses in state court. At that point, a judge ordered him to be detained in custody of the U.S. Marshal.
In the state case, Fruits is facing a total of four charges for check deception and theft.
