Indiana man agrees to plead guilty to wire fraud in connection with wire-selling scheme

A Seymour man who is accused of embezzling more than $202,000 from his employer has agreed to plead guilty to one count of felony wire fraud.

The defendant, Clyde Shane Hatton, held a variety of electrician-related roles at the company between October 2004 and February 2022, court documents say. He is accused of using an employee credit card to purchase copper wire, obtaining reimbursement from his employer for the purchase, then selling the wire to a scrap yard and keeping the money for himself.

Prosecutors allege that Hatton did this about 107 times between October 2020 and December 2021.

The employer is not identified by name in legal documents. Instead, the documents refer to the company as Victim A, an Indiana-based corporation that “designs, manufactures and distributes various engine and vehicle parts.”

According to Indiana court records in an unrelated case, in 2010 a Bartholomew County judge ordered a man named Clyde Shane Hatton have his wages garnished to satisfy a $2,092 judgement against him. The employer from which those wages were to be collected was identified as Cummins Industrial in Seymour. (That judgment was satisfied in 2011, court records show.)

Hatton’s attorney in the case is Dominic Martin of Indiana Federal Community Defenders. IBJ attempted to reach Martin by phone Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, but on both occasions a receptionist said Martin was out of the office. Martin did not respond to a phone message left Monday afternoon.

When reached via email and given the opportunity to comment, Hatton told IBJ, “I’m sorry for the mistakes I made.”

Because the use of a credit card involves wire, or electronic, communication in interstate commerce, the activities that Hatton stands accused of constitute wire fraud, court documents say.

According to a plea agreement filed Friday, Hatton has agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and to pay his former employer $202,174 in restitution. Hatton has also agreed to pay a separate forfeiture of $73,523, which represents the proceeds he obtained from the fraudulent activity, the court documents say.

The offense is punishable by up to 20 years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of not more than $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. The parties have not yet agreed on a specific sentence, the plea agreement says.

The case is being handled in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Hatton’s initial court hearing is scheduled for June 30 in Indianapolis.