COEUR D’ALENE – A federal jury convicted Douglas Worman, 63, of Coeur d’Alene, of 17 counts of wire fraud after a six-day trial, announced U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit today. The jury acquitted Worman of five separate counts of bank fraud.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Worman owned and operated Worman Forest Management, a Coeur d’Alene-area forestry management company. In 2010, Worman, through his company, entered into a factoring agreement with J.S. Richards Forestry Management to sell millions of dollars of Worman Forest Management’s accounts receivable that were based on invoices for work the business had provided to its customers. Factoring is a form of short-term financing in which a business sells its accounts receivable to a third-party at a discount. In a factoring transaction, the seller of an invoice obtains immediate funding from a buyer, and the buyer of an invoice earns a fee for providing the up-front financing.
According to court records, beginning in at least 2015 and continuing through September 2018, Worman submitted inflated and entirely false and fraudulent invoices to J.S. Richards Forestry Management for factoring, purportedly for work Worman’s business had performed for its customers. Between June 2018 and September 2018, Worman submitted more than $2 million in false and fraudulent invoices for factoring to J.S. Richards Forestry Management. Those invoices claimed to be for actual work performed by Worman Forest Management for its customers, but, in reality, the invoices were for amounts that were inflated and entirely fictitious. As a result of Worman’s fraud scheme, Worman fraudulently obtained at least $1.5 from J.S. Richards Forestry Management.
“I extend my gratitude to the jurors who diligently performed their civic duty and gave careful consideration to the evidence in this complex case,” said U.S. Attorney Hurwit. “This case demonstrates the commitment and skill of our prosecutors, staff, and law enforcement partners. We will continue to root out fraud by following the facts wherever they lead.”
“Fraud schemes may not be violent, but victims can suffer staggering losses from such crimes, which is why the FBI will seek accountability and justice,” said Shohini Sinha of the Salt Lake City FBI. “Even if there’s an association or a relationship built on trust between two parties, always thoroughly research an investment opportunity, and report any potential fraud to the FBI.”
Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Nye accepted the jury’s verdict on August 13, 2024, and scheduled Worman to be sentenced on December 10, 2024, at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene. Worman faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Hurwit commended the investigation by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, which led to the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittney Campbell and Sean Mazorol are prosecuting this case.
