Lakewood Resident Charged With Embezzling From Retirement Plans

ROCKY RIVER, OH — A Lakewood resident and CEO of a Rocky River company faces an eight-count indictment for allegedly embezzling more than $130,000 from his employees' retirement plans and withholding $860,000 from workers for payroll tax but not paying that money to the IRS.

C. David Snyder, 65, was the chairman, president and CEO of Attevo, Inc., a tech consulting company. He was also the chairman and primary shareholder of Ruralogic, Inc., based out of Bryan, Ohio. During the times of the alleged crimes, he was living in a $510,000 a year rental home in Lakewood.

“This defendant embezzled money from an employee retirement account and did not pay to the IRS money he withheld from his employees’ paychecks, all while living a lavish lifestyle,” U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman said in a statement.

According to law enforcement and the Department of Justice, Attevo employees would prepare financial records and schedules, along with quarterly and annual returns reports at Snyder's behest. He would then rank the payables in order of importance, the indictment says.

While representing Attevo, Snyder and the IRS agreed in 2011 to a monthly payment plan of $48,350 to repay the company's outstanding payroll tax liabilities. The company 10 such payments then stopped, the indictment says.

During that time, Snyder withheld payroll tax from his employees but didn't pay that money to the IRS. In total, the indictment says Snyder failed to pay $328,355 of his employee's portion of payroll taxes in 2010 and $530,778 in 2012.

“Business owners have a responsibility to withhold income taxes for their employees and then remit those taxes to the Internal Revenue Service,” said IRS Special Agent in Charge Ryan Korner. “The failure to pay over withheld taxes results in the loss of tax revenue to the United States government and the loss of future Social Security or Medicare benefits for employees.”

He also created a 401(k) and profit-sharing plan for Attevo and Ruralogic. The plan was funded through employee payroll deferrals. Between 2010 and 2012, the indictment says, Snyder failed to pay about $130,415, collected from employee contributions and loan repayments, into the plans.

During those two years, Snyder paid $510,000 for the rental of his home in Lakewood and his vacation home in Chautuqua County, New York, law enforcement says. He took cash advances from Attevo's credit card, deposited $$82,237 into his bank account and $182,988 into his wife's bank account. His wife did not work for Attevo, the indictment says.

Between 2009 and 2011, Snyder collected about $850,132 in income from Attevo, the indictment says.

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