Ridgewood Man Charged With Defrauding Pa. Company

A Ridgewood man was charged for his allegedly role in a scheme to defraud businesses out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, authorities said.

Michael H. Keppler, 55, was charged with two counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his alleged participation, along with Douglas S. Rae, 58, to defraud Rae’s employer out of $170,000, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said in a statement.

Between 2010 and 2012, Keppler and Rae allegedly submitted bogus invoices from Keppler’s company, Keppler Engineers, LLC to Rae’s employer; the invoices contained specific descriptions of services, item descriptions, and prices, Memeger said.

Rae’s former employer paid Keppler Engineers, who then paid all but approximately 10 percent of the proceeds to Lighting Products International, Inc., whose bank accounts Rae controlled, Memeger said.

Neither Keppler Engineers nor LPI provided the products or services to the victim company, authorities said, which paid more than $170,000 it was billed from the invoices.

Keppler faces 60 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a $500,000 fine, and must pay full restitution if convicted, Memeger said.

Douglas S. Rae, 58, of Bethlehem, Pa., and John R. Hodde were also charged in connection with the case.