According to the Philadelphia Business Journal and other media sources, Joan Baranek, former vice president of sales for Airgas Safety, was sentenced to two years in prison Thursday for embezzling more than $830,000 from the company.
Baranek, 57, pleaded guilty last year to charges stemming from dozens of false expense reports she submitted to Levittown-based Airgas – No. 8 on Industrial Distribution's 2014 Big 50 List.
Between 2006-2012, Baranek reportedly created fictitious invoices for gift cards and other award prizes which she submitted to the company for reimbursement. She reportedly submitted about 200 expense reports, claiming $1.8 million in promotional expenses, with more than half of those reporters found to be fraudulent.
In addition to her prison sentence, Baranek was ordered to pay $567,504 in restitution to Airgas and $304,003 to the IRS, and serve three years of supervised release which includes 50 hours of community service.
