Man that embezzled hundreds of thousands from Flexfab sees sentence cut in half

A former Flexfab employee who embezzled nearly $566, 000 from the company has had his prison sentence reduced. Ryan Williams, who pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges last year in connection with purchases he made using Flexfab's Amazon business account and a company-issued credit card over a period of six years, was re-sentenced Wednesday afternoon to 5-to-20 years in prison by Judge Michael Schipper in Barry County court. Williams received credit for 332 days he has already served at the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson. Williams, who had been Flexfab's senior desktop architect, was originally sentenced to 10-to-20 years in January for the embezzlement. He must still pay restitution for the amount that was embezzled. "I understand it is still a significant sentence, but I think it has to be for this crime," Schipper said in passing sentence. "I think this is very proportionate to the nature of the crime that occurred here." Williams apologized to the court for his actions. "I have deep regret for letting my team down, as it was the team that I built at Flexfab. I have deep regret for what I did to the DeCamps (owners of Flexfab), because they were always kind to me and treated me like family," Williams said, his voice breaking at the end. Prosecutors, with support from Flexfab, had sought a minimum sentence of 13 years in prison because of a series of robocalls that were made to Flexfab that were linked to Williams's wife, Rita, after the court had agreed to a motion to re-sentence Williams. His wife is currently facing charges filed by the state's Attorney General's office for stalking and using a computer to commit a crime due to actions she took following Williams's initial sentencing. Williams allegedly laughed when his wife played back some of the robocalls that accused Flexfab of insurance fraud during their phone conversations. He made comments like "way to go, honey" and "give 'em hell" during those conversations, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Elsworth said. "What he's doing on the phone, outside of the court, outside of asking for a more lenient sentence, is participating in, encouraging and supporting the harassment of the victim in this case," Elsworth said in asking that the court to score at the highest possible level a sentencing variable addressing interference with the administration of justice, known as OV-19.

"To be clear, the only victim is Flexfab," Elsworth added. "They were very accommodating to Mr. Williams at the initial sentencing with what their opinion was. The insurance company could have, if they wanted to, put a lien on his house, forced a sale and seizure of assets. They weren't doing that. They didn't even oppose the re-sentencing in the case, and to my knowledge, they've never lashed back out at Mr. Williams for what he's done." Defense attorney Anastase Markou, who took on the case after Williams's original sentence, pushed back on Elsworth's allegation. "To the extent that there were comments being made by his wife, that he then, after they were made, made any kind of positive statements about - that is not the equivalent of attempted interference with the administration of justice," Markou said. Markou argued against the maximum sentence that Elsworth recommended because the crime involved property. "I have yet to read a case in the Court of Appeals that it's justified. I've seen embezzlement cases go over a million dollars, and it's still the same thing - no one has (sentenced an individual) to a 10-to-max on any embezzlement case that I've ever seen," he said. "That doesn't mean it can't be done," Schipper responded. Williams fielded a series of questions from Schipper about what led to the embezzlement as well as the robocalls. "Flexfab didn't entrap you, they didn't do anything to cause you to do this, did they? Because that's what (was alleged) in a lot of the comments that this is Flexfab's fault, there's fraud," Schipper said. "It's entirely my fault, based on the stress that I was under. I made those choices," Williams said. The judge asked Williams why he didn't confront his wife about the robocalls. He said he did ask her to stop one time. "In the end, the decisions I made destroyed her life," Williams said. "It turned her whole world upside down. I didn't have any right to tell her what to do."

This week's sentencing comes nearly one year after Schipper sent Williams away for a minimum of 10 years back in January. Back then, Williams appeared in the same courtroom for a tense sentencing hearing in front of Schipper, who, at the time, was seemingly incredulous about the details associated with Williams's case. As senior desktop architect for Flexfab, Williams embezzled from the company over the course of six years, making purchases through the company's Amazon business account and with a company-issued credit card. This included everything from computers, televisions and laptops to an aboveground pool and a long list of merchandise. At that January hearing, Elsworth showed that Williams had made 2, 800 separate purchases until he was eventually caught by a fellow employee and subsequently terminated. Despite Flexfab's request for no jail time for their former employee, Schipper sentenced Williams to a decade in prison for a felony charge that carried a maximum sentence of 20 years. After filing a couple different motions, Williams returned to Barry County court this summer where Schipper granted the motion for re-sentencing. Schipper made no sentencing guarantees after Markou alluded to the fact that, during his initial sentencing, Williams did not understand the discretion the court had in sentencing after his guilty plea. Therefore, Williams felt blindsided by the original, lengthy sentence. At that hearing this summer, both sides ironed out restitution. When sentenced in January, Williams admitted to embezzling $336, 198 while contesting an additional $229, 724 that he was accused of in fraudulent spending. Both sides determined that Williams owed a total of $565, 906. Of that amount, $555, 906 would go to the insurance company that handled Flexfab's claim, while $10, 000 would go to Flexfab to cover the company's deductible.