Gross pleads guilty to fraud charges

The United States Attorney’s Office announced that Randy Gross has pleaded guilty to fraud charges that caused a loss of over $120,000 to his former employer.

According to court documents,  Randy Gross became general manager of Allied Roofing & Exteriors, Fenton,  which was owned by Atlas Restoration Specialists, Inc.  Most of their projects came through referrals from insurance companies.  Gross was hired to help expand the business to include non-insurance referral projects.  Between October 2005 and March 2009, Gross generated “off-the-books” non-insurance projects, caused fraudulent invoices to be submitted to Atlas, which the company paid, and had customers pay him personally instead of paying the company. Gross had customers pay him either by check or cash. Atlas was paying for the costs of completing the projects while Gross received the income.  As a result of this scheme, Atlas unwittingly paid more than $120,000 for materials and labor for these “off-the-books” projects.

Gross, 37, St. Louis, pleaded guilty to two felony counts of mail fraud before United States District Judge Carol E. Jackson. Each count of mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000. Restitution is mandatory. Sentencing has been set for Jan, 6, 2011.

This case was investigated by the Postal Inspection Service and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Reginald Harris is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.