WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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A Bloomington accountant was convicted of mail fraud after he siphoned off one point two million dollars from his Bedford clients.
A US District Court sentenced Michael Sallee late last month, after an FBI investigation found he had made 98 fraudulent transactions as the accountant for his client.
FBI Special Agent Rusty Warlick said Sallee took over the client’s account after inheriting his father’s accounting firm.
Warlick said there was no evidence that Sallee had defrauded any other area clients. Warlick added that the victim was not financially savvy and trusted Sallee as her accountant due to their personal relationship.
Warlick said the best steps to avoiding being the victim of fraud was to regularly check financial statements and credit reports. Fraudsters can use stolen identities to open lines of credit with banks, and then drain those accounts.
Sallee had worked as a financial advisor and CPA in southern Indiana for thirty years.
