A Virginia man sentenced to two and a half years in prison last year just got slapped with another four years and three months after police discovered that the man embezzled funds from one job to pay off restitution obligations to a previous employer he embezzled funds from.
John Babsa, a 35-year-old Virginia resident, has been sentenced to serve an additional 4 years and 3 months of active incarceration for two counts of felony embezzlement and one county of felony money laundering.
According to the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office:
The charges arose from Babsa’s embezzlement of funds entrusted to him in his capacity as an employee of DCS Corporation, and his subsequent laundering of stolen money through restitution payments tendered to the Alexandria Circuit Court.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office said Babsa was hired at DCS Corporation in 2020 as the Director of Corporate Services after leaving a company called AMB Industries. In 2022, Babsa was charged with embezzling during his time at ABM Industries.
“The total amount of provable embezzlement in that case was $583,060,” the release said. “Babsa plead guilty to one count of Felony Embezzlement with regard to the ABM case, and, on July 27, 2023, was sentenced to serve 18 months of active incarceration. At his sentencing hearing, Babsa, paid $583,060 in restitution directly to a representative of ABM Industries.”
After that case, however, a police investigation found that Babsa embezzled money at DCS Corporation to pay off the restitution owed to his last job.
“A subsequent police investigation into Babsa’s employment at DCS Corporation revealed that, in February and March 2023, Babsa modified purchase orders and payment invoices to significantly increase payments DCS was required to pay to one of their subcontractors,” the release said. “Babsa subsequently diverted two payments, totaling $440,549.54, into an American Express National Bank account in his name.”
The investigation further revealed that $366,000 from this account was diverted into a Navy Federal Credit union account and a cashier’s check of $583,060 in the name of ABM Industries was drawn from that account on July 20. If that number sounds familiar: it’s how much Babsa owed in restitution to ABM Industries.
“Investigators determined the funds embezzled from DCS Corporation were used to repay Babsa’s restitution obligations to his previous employer, ABM Industries,” the release said.
Babsa is not required to pay DCS Corporation $440,549 in restitution in addition to the jail time.
“The rampant cupidity displayed by the defendant in this case — a situation in which he truly robbed Peter to pay Paul — is deplorable,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter wrote. “The Commonwealth is extremely gratified by the significant sentence imposed by the Court, which will punish the defendant for his crimes and serve as a deterrent to other white-collar criminals by assuring them that even non-violent offenses may receive serious punishment where warranted.”
