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A Monroe man facing felony charges for embezzling nearly $900,000 from his former employer had created a fake company to hide the scheme from his bosses, Monroe police said Wednesday.
Over six years Juan Pablo Guarda, the 39-year-old former project manager for Boggs Paving, paid 137 invoices to Maxum LLC, a company that he said provided piping materials and services at Boggs Paving job sites, Monroe police Detective Jonathan Williams said.
But a police investigation over the past month shows that Maxum LLC doesn’t exist, Williams said. Instead, police said the $888,680 in money paid to Maxum LLC went directly to Guarda and his wife Elisa Guarda, who was also arrested and charged with felonies.
Both husband and wife were arrested last Thursday and charged with obtaining property by false pretenses and conspiracy to commit a felony. Juan Pablo Guarda faces an additional charge of larceny by employees.
Juan Pablo Guarda was in the Union County Jail Wednesday, records show, held on $1 million secure bond. His wife had been released.
“As we move forward, we are reviewing how this crime happened and are taking appropriate steps to establish even stronger safeguards to ensure something like this never happens again,” company CEO Drew Boggs said in a statement. Boggs Paving has more than 400 employees and is based in Monroe.
Staff researcher Maria David contributed.
