A Canton man has been sentenced to federal prison for his involvement in a wire fraud conspiracy, according to an announcement by Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
James Derr, 55, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and received a 46-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle on March 18, 2025. Derr was also ordered to pay $2,615,585.93 in restitution.
Court documents revealed that Derr, an electrical contractor with J&D Electric, conspired with Rebekah Mitchell and Brittany Burton to misappropriate equipment for personal profit. Between March 2017 and May 2021, Mitchell used her position at Schneider Electric in Athens to steal circuit breakers from their inventory. She then arranged for the stolen items to be shipped to locations where Derr could collect them. Mitchell compensated Burton for using her role at J&K Storage in Flint to receive these shipments.
Mitchell fabricated documents within the purchase order and logistics systems to create fictitious customers. This deception led to the shipment of Schneider Electric circuit breakers to prearranged locations agreed upon by her and Derr, including J&K Storage on approximately 11 occasions during 2017 and 2018. Derr subsequently sold the products and shared the proceeds with Mitchell as compensation for her involvement in the scheme. The actions of Derr, Mitchell, and Burton resulted in a financial loss of approximately $2,615,585.93 for Schneider Electric.
On February 18, 2025, Mitchell was sentenced to 34 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $2.6 million in restitution to Schneider Electric. Burton has pleaded guilty but is awaiting sentencing.
The FBI Tyler Field Office conducted the investigation into this case which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James Noble.