In 4 years, Malcolm J. Murphy defrauded Webster University out of $625,000. Murphy pleaded guilty Monday.
Murphy, from St. Peters, Missouri, was the Facilities Manager at Webster, and oversaw construction projects. He set up two “sham’ companies, say prosecutors, called NuRoad Systems and Paric Civil Consulting. He then approved invoices paying these companies for work that was never done.
Murphy was hired as Facilities Manager in September of 2002.
In addition to signing the invoices himself, Murphy also forged the signatures of his co-workers.
Murphy, who is 48 years old, now faces up to 20 years in prison and will have to repay Webster the $625,000.
Federal prosecutors made a point of noting that there is a legitimate company called Paric Corporation that is in no way associated with Murphy, and that Murphy said he was not aware of the company when he created what prosecutors call the “sham company.”