A Merrick man was indicted for embezzling more than $950,000 from his employer, using the company’s funds to pay for personal purchases and failing to pay a combined $95,000 in income taxes in 2022 and 2023, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
Gregory Morgan was arraigned on Wednesday, June 25 on grand jury indictment charges of second-degree grand larceny, third-degree grand larceny, 39 counts of first-degree falsifying business records, first-degree offering a false instrument for filing, second-degree criminal tax fraud and third-degree criminal tax fraud.
Morgan pleaded not guilty and was released, Donnelly said. He is due back in court on July 31 and faces up to five to 15 years in prison if convicted, the DA said.
Donnelly said Morgan, the sole owner of two corporations, GM Concepts Inc. and Morgan Concepts Inc., began working as a sales representative for a full-service digital printing company in 2015.
Morgan was responsible for contacting new and existing clients to make sales relating to their graphic production needs for events and other endeavors.
Donnelly said that in 2023, the company allegedly discovered that Morgan had used its credit card to make unauthorized personal purchases.
The company terminated Morgan based on its findings in October 2023 and conducted an internal review and audit of the sales that Morgan had handled for the company, allegedly identifying potential fraud, according to the DA.
Donnelly said the county’s investigation revealed that between 2022 and 2023, Morgan allegedly used his two companies to embezzle more than $914,432 from his employer through a fraudulent invoicing scheme. He also allegedly modified his employer’s job orders and diverted payments away from the company to companies that he controlled.
Morgan allegedly deleted line items from the company’s records to make the jobs appear smaller, Donnelly said. He then fabricated invoices in the names of his own companies for the full scope of the work, as originally requested by the client, and allegedly diverted those funds to his companies.
As a result, Morgan allegedly stole $914,432 and then used the funds for personal use, including purchasing a 36-foot Cigarette Gladiator boat, paying for at least $170,000 worth of home renovations, and to fund a brokerage account, Donnelly said.
Separately, Morgan used the company’s credit card to make dozens of unauthorized personal purchases on Amazon, according to the DA.
Donnelly said he modified Amazon invoices reflecting his personal purchases to appear to be business-related expenses for his employer and submitted them to the company.
Morgan allegedly spent $36,116 on gift cards, an electric scooter, Apple watches, a nearly $2,000 Miele coffee maker, home improvement items, and other household items, according to the DA.
The investigation also determined, based on records from the state Department of Taxation and Finance, that Morgan did not claim the additional income in tax years 2022 and 2023 that he gained from his alleged scheme, meaning he allegedly underpaid his income taxes by $95,003 as a result, Donnelly said.
