Morgantown, West Virginia, construction company manager gets 46 months in fed prison for stealing $3.5M from business

The judge declined a defense request to give Allen 60 days to report, saying the defendant had plenty of time to get his affairs in order, and ruling him a flight risk due to Allen’s failure to appear on the original sentencing date of March 15.

Allen was arrested later that day and has been jailed since. He receives credit for that time toward his sentence.

U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas, for U.S. Attorney William Ihlenfeld, indicated during the hearing that the government immediately would work to seize assets through forfeiture.

Douglas also rebutted defense counsel Lance Rollo’s request for a downward departure/variance to some sort of alternative release. Rollo argued his client better could make restitution if not incarcerated and would be able to continue in a high-paying job.

But Douglas said Allen had plenty of time to start paying toward restitution prior to sentencing, and hadn’t paid a dime. Additionally, Allen declined to be debriefed by the government and failed to show for court, Douglas said. Douglas also noted the criminal behavior lasted from 2014 until 2020.

Douglas, citing some of the purchases by Allen — including $132,000 in jewelry and a 1954 Chevy 3100 truck — asked for an immediate remand to a sentence in the lower end of the guideline range of 37 to 46 months.

The victims were former business associates with Allen.

One of them gave a lengthy statement to the court blasting Allen, asserting Allen had caused them millions of dollars in debt and myriad problems in making good money owed due to the defendant’s behavior. That victim requested that Kleeh depart upward to the maximum potential sentence of 30 years, to send “a message that crime in the Northern District doesn’t pay.”

Such an upward departure — over 10 times the prescribed upper end of the guideline range — would have been challenged by Rollo and probably overturned by the Fourth Circuit as a disparate sentence.

Kleeh said the $3.5 million stolen was “a shocking sum of money.” The judge added that amount likely would be considered “materially significant in every U.S. District Court in the country.”

A church construction project was hurt by Allen’s actions, according to Kleeh. And the trickle-down effect likely meant the case negatively will impact delivery drivers, builders and even stock workers in hardware stores, the judge said. Small business owners also were left vulnerable, Kleeh said.

The judge also said he’s disappointed in how federal sentencing guidelines “treat cases like this.” While the guidelines are just a recommendation to judges, they are a powerful consideration for appellate courts like the Fourth Circuit, which double and triple check the work of district judges such as Kleeh.

In refusing any kind of downward variance or departure, Kleeh noted the length of the crime, the amount stolen, and that Allen has had a job with good wages, yet hasn’t paid toward his restitution in this case or toward money judgments elsewhere (according to statements in court, Allen owes $1.4 million civil judgment in a Monongalia County case.

Kleeh also wondered whether the money Allen has been earning through his recent employment in Charleston is now “dust in the wind.”

“What you did, sir, has changed lives forever,” Kleeh said. “... I can’t overstate the seriousness of the conduct in this case.”

Allen pleaded guilty in November to wire fraud and money laundering.

Allen was formerly the manager of ABB Construction LLC, which did business as Accelerated Construction Services, according to Ihlenfeld’s office.

Allen diverted the company funds for his personal benefit, including $113,250 used to buy a 5.19 carat diamond ring, according to Ihlenfeld.

“When someone abuses a position of trust for personal financial gain, it can be crippling to individuals and to businesses,” Ihlenfeld said at the time of the plea hearing. “Because of this, we will continue to be aggressive in our pursuit of white-collar criminals like Mr. Allen.”

The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and Monongalia County Sheriff’s Office investigated. The FBI assisted.