Former Printer Gets Prison Term

SOUTH BEND, IN—The former owner of a now-defunct printing company has been sentenced to 63 months in a federal prison for embezzlement.

James Wheeler, of Boynton Beach, FL, was convicted last September of stealing money deducted from the paychecks of about 50 employees at Gallery Graphics in Indiana, according to the South Bend Tribune. Wheeler was accused in two charges of pilfering more than $53,000 in health insurance premiums and 401(k) contributions.

Unpaid employee insurance premiums resulted in the loss of health coverage, and the workers suffered a total loss of more than $160,000. Wheeler has been ordered to pay about $211,000 in restitution, the paper reported.

Gallery Graphics folded in 2003, less than a year after Wheeler had purchased the firm, then called Petersen Printing.