Former Cummins employee pleads guilty to wire fraud

By the Indianapolis Business Journal

A former employee accused of defrauding Indiana-based Cummins Inc. and other companies out of more than $4.5 million has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

David Hudson, 54, of Columbus, Ohio, who formerly worked for Cummins in New Hudson, Michigan, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan.

According to the plea agreement, the fraud took place between 2008 and 2017.

In 2003, the plea agreement says, Hudson began working for a company then known as Cummins Bridgeway LLC. Cummins owned a 46 percent share of that company, whose other owners included K&S Holding, Equibridge LLC and Bridgeway Associates LLC. Cummins became sole owner of the company in 2014.

As part of his job, the plea agreement says, Hudson had the authority to transfer money to profit-sharing partners Cummins, K&S, Equibridge and Bridgeway. He also had the ability to write checks from these entities.

Prosecutors say Hudson used false pretenses to direct a subordinate to transfer company funds into one of these accounts.

“Hudson would then, without authorization, write checks from the profit-sharing entities to himself,” the plea agreement says.

As part of the plea agreement, Hudson was ordered to pay a total of $5.33 million in restitution to the four companies, including $3.46 million to Cummins.

For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.