Federal grand jury indicts former biofuel company founder for embezzling $5.9M

In Washington, a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., returned an indictment last week charging the founder and former CEO of a sustainable fuel company with embezzling at least $5.9 million from the company.

According to court documents, Bryan Sherbacow, 54, of Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C., allegedly engaged in a scheme to defraud the company he founded by fraudulently transferring company funds to a personal bank account and making unauthorized personal expenditures from a company bank account. Sherbacow allegedly attempted to conceal his embezzlement by, among other things, emailing altered bank statements and other falsified financial records to a company accountant and members of the company’s board. Sherbacow allegedly used embezzled funds to pay for such personal items as a vintage Mercedes-Benz sports car, a Range Rover sport utility vehicle, a down payment on a condo, payments to an art auction operator, personal tax liens, personal credit card payments, rent payments on personal residences, payment to a beach club, and the installation of an audio-visual system at a personal residence. 

Sherbacow is charged with three counts of wire fraud and two counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. If convicted, Sherbacow faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the top counts of the indictment.