Tucson man, partner get prison time in wire fraud case

Warren Joseph Rice, Jr. and Anthony Ambrose McCutcheon, 46, pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, according to Sandy Raynor, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. McCutcheon was sentenced to 41 months in prison and the men were ordered to jointly pay the $2.3 million restitution and each perform 100 hours of community service upon release.

The men admitted to conning First Data Resources, Inc. from August 1997 through February 2006. As director of the Denver-based firm’s Chandler office, McCutcheon contracted with a company Rice operated for goods and services that were never provided.

Rice’s operation, Andalusia Companies, received checks and electronic fund transfers throughout the nine-year conspiracy by way of false invoices for goods and services McCutcheon put through his employer’s payment authorization process, according to Raynor.

Prosecutors said during Monday’s sentencing that both Rice and McCutcheon lived well beyond their means during the course of the fraud.