A Columbus, Ohio, man pleaded guilty Monday to a $4.5 million scheme of defrauding his employers, Cummins Bridgeway LLC and Cummins Inc.
David Hudson, 54, faces a sentence of 51 to 63 months in prison for writing checks to himself out of profit-sharing funds, according to a news release the U.S. Department of Justice in Detroit. His sentencing is scheduled for April 15.
Hudson worked for power generator distributor Cummins Bridgeway from 2003 to 2014, when it was acquired by Cummins Inc., which makes engines and power-generation equipment.
After the acquisition, Hudson’s responsibilities included transferring funds to entities created to share Cummins profits with Cummins Bridgeway employees, according to the news release. Hudson, according to the release, wrote unauthorized checks to himself from those profit-sharing vehicles between 2008 and 2017.
Cummins retains operations in New Hudson, Mich., and Hudson lived in Michigan at the time of the offense, Gina Balaya, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department in Detroit, told Crain’s Detroit Business in an email.
“This was an unfortunate incident for Cummins, but we are very pleased with the ruling,” a company spokesman told Automotive News in an emailed statement. “Integrity is a core value of our company and we are committed to upholding it.”