MN oil executive sentenced after stealing more than $930K from employer

A former oil executive in Minnesota will spend more than two years in prison after he defrauded his employer out of more than $930,000. 

Gregg William Johnson, 59, was charged in February with one count of wire fraud in connection to a scheme to steal from Chemstar Products Co. He pleaded guilty to the charge in March and was sentenced Monday, Aug. 23, to 27 months (2.25 years) in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  

According to the criminal complaint, from February 2014-July 2020, Johnson used his position as the chief financial officer of Chemstar Products to defraud the Minneapolis-based company, which specializes in products that assist in the oil drilling process.

Prosecutors allege Johnson converted company funds to himself by issuing checks from Chemstar Products' bank accounts for his own personal expenses, including credit card bills, personal insurance payments, mortgage payments, home renovations at his three different properties, and college tuition for his kids. 

Johnson hid this scheme in various ways, the charges say, including falsifying the company president's signature, falsifying invoices, logging false expenditures and using different programs than the one the company used to issue checks.