A Tacoma man has been sentenced to 142 months in prison for wire fraud, following a scheme to embezzle over $2 million from his employer and fleeing before sentencing. Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller announced the sentence for John Whisenant, who was arrested in July 2023 and pleaded guilty in March 2024. Before his scheduled sentencing in July 2024, Whisenant informed his pretrial services officer via email that he was not ready to go to jail. The FBI apprehended him on August 14, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Lauren King remarked at the sentencing hearing that Whisenant's life had been "a revolving door of crime and prison time." She highlighted the severe financial impact on the victim company and noted that Whisenant's actions had destroyed his credibility with the court.
Acting U.S. Attorney Miller described the scheme as a sophisticated fraud motivated by greed, stating, "Mr. Whisenant bought Porsches and Mercedes and $23,000 airline tickets." Over two decades, Whisenant committed numerous fraud offenses related to theft and deception, but this case marked his largest offense.
Court records indicate that Whisenant began working at an online used car sales company in October 2018. A year later, he gained access to company bank accounts and accounting software. From June 2019 to November 2021, he made 57 wire transfers totaling over $2 million into accounts he controlled by disguising them as legitimate business expenses.
Whisenant used some of the embezzled funds for luxury purchases including high-end automobiles like Porsches and Mercedes-Benz vehicles. He also spent significant amounts on an Audi E-Tron and a Tesla, rented luxury homes in Southern California, and purchased expensive airline tickets to Paris.
The fraudulent activities were uncovered when a bookkeeper conducted a thorough review of the company's finances in January 2022. Following this discovery, Whisenant resigned abruptly in February 2022.
When confronted by the FBI, Whisenant attempted to shift blame onto the company's CEO. Prosecutors emphasized that his actions severely harmed victims within the company, destabilizing its finances and causing hardship for its largest shareholder and other investors.
Initially facing a recommended seven-year sentence before absconding, prosecutors increased their recommendation to ten-and-a-half years due to Whisenant's disregard for legal proceedings. While evading capture, he frequently changed SIM cards in his phone to conceal his location and engaged in drug trafficking activities.
This marks Whisenant's second federal fraud conviction; he was previously sentenced for wire fraud in 2017 and has past convictions for credit card and check fraud crimes at the state level.
Whisenant has agreed to repay $2,084,779 as restitution.
The FBI conducted the investigation into this case which is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean Waite.