A McHenry man who set up a scheme that authorities said defrauded his employer of $1 million has been sentenced to five years in prison, according to court records and DuPage County prosecutors.
Abel Aguirre, 47, pleaded guilty to theft by deception Wednesday in a plea deal. In return for Aguirre admitting guilt, prosecutors agreed to drop other felony counts he faced.
Aguirre was arrested in late 2016 for masterminding a scheme that cost his employer more than $1 million over a six-year period beginning in 2008, prosecutors said.
Aguirre managed the global supply chain for Fellowes, an Itasca-based company that sells office technology accessories.
Authorities say he started a company called Global Commerce Inc. He would order supplies for Fellowes from Global Commerce at inflated prices and pocketed the difference, authorities said. According to a civil action that Fellowes filed, Aguirre used a relative’s name on paperwork that purported to show the relative was a representative of Global Commerce, as a way of concealing Aguirre’s connection to the company.
Eventually, Fellowes officials uncovered the fraud and alerted authorities. Aguirre was fired in 2014 and indicted in November 2016.
As part of the plea agreement in the criminal case, Aguirre was ordered to pay restitution of $891,000.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
![An extra-alarm fire destroyed a home and damaged two others on the near West side Wednesday night, though fire officials said no one was injured in the blaze. The fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. on the 1300 block of West 16th Street in the Pilsen neighborhood, according to a social media update from the Chicago Fire Department. Officials quickly upgraded the blaze to a 2-11 fire. Neighbors who clustered around the scene Wednesday night said the home had been under construction and appeared to be vacant. Although the fire was declared struck out at 9:30 p.m. in a social […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ctc-l-structure-fire-041724-06.jpg?w=525 "An extra-alarm fire destroyed a home and damaged two others on the near West side Wednesday night, though fire officials said no one was injured in the blaze. The fire broke out around 8:30 p.m. on the 1300 block of West 16th Street in the Pilsen neighborhood, according to a social media update from the Chicago Fire Department. Officials quickly upgraded the blaze to a 2-11 fire. Neighbors who clustered around the scene Wednesday night said the home had been under construction and appeared to be vacant. Although the fire was declared struck out at 9:30 p.m. in a social […]")
