STAFF REPORTS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that David Miedel, 42, of Michigan, who was convicted of conspiracy to transfer stolen property in interstate commerce, was sentenced to 12 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa. The defendant was also ordered to pay restitution to Xerox in the amount of $1,031,680.24.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard A. Resnick, who is handling the case, stated that the Xerox Company provides branded printing toner to customers who have entered into lease contracts for office equipment. As part of a lease, the customer is invoiced a flat rate per month for office equipment, including printers, copiers, scanners, multifunction devices, and graphic arts production equipment. In order to operate each piece of equipment, supplies are required, including toner. The supplies can be expensive to buy individually, so Xerox offers an “all-inclusive” contract. Xerox provides the supplies and the customer pays the company based on the number of prints made with the supplies. The supplies must be consumed by the customer and at all times remain the property of Xerox until consumed in the leased equipment.
In August 2015, Miedel contacted employees of a logistics company who worked at the company’s warehouse in Charlotte, North Carolina where Xerox supplies, which had been returned by customers, were being stored. The defendant told employees that he wanted to purchase the returned supplies. On September 11, 2015, Miedel traveled to North Carolina to purchase the supplies for himself and his partner, who also resided in Michigan. Miedel purchased 92 units of Xerox supplies for which he paid the warehouse employees $1,800 in cash. The defendant then drove the stolen supplies to Michigan where they were sold.
In September 2015, Miedel began purchasing stolen Xerox supplies from a person he believed was a logistics company employee in Webster, NY. Between September 15, 2015, and March 2016, the defendant traveled to Webster several times to purchase what he believed were stolen Xerox supplies worth approximately $200,000. The total loss to Xerox from Miedel’s conduct was $1,031,680.24.
Today’s sentencing is the result of an investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly.
