A Springfield accountant pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $432,000 over several years from a trust fund he controlled.
Ray Leonard Marple, 61, pleaded guilty to counts of wire fraud and making a false federal tax return. The pleas were connected to withdrawals of about $432,981 from a revocable trust account between July 7, 2017 to May 3, 2023, after the death of its grantor, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Western District of Missouri.
Under a plea agreement made to U.S. Magistrate Judge David Rush, Marple must pay restitution of $415,481 to the trust and at least $59,622 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. He must also forfeit to the government a money judgment of $415,481 and his Springfield residential property, and could also be subject to a federal prison sentence of up to 23 years without parole.
Marple, a CPA, admitted to withdrawing trustee fees far above a total of $17,500 he would have been normally entitled to, according to the release, and used those withdrawals to purchase residential property in Springfield.
Marple also admitted to under-reporting his income on federal tax returns from 2018 to 2020 by $177,000. He has operated his own accounting firm since 1999.
The case was investigated by the IRS and FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney.
