SALISBURY, Md. - According to the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, Duane Larmore of Salisbury, was sentenced today for his involvement in the theft of more than $1.8 million from Shore Appliance Connection.
Larmore, 48, was sentenced on October 26th to 30 months in federal prison plus three years supervised re;ease for a wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. He will also be required to pay back the full amount of the victims' losses, totaling $1,850,488.94.
Larmore worked for Shore Appliance Conmnection at the time of the theft, the Attorney's Office said.
Larmore's co-defendant Stephen Franklin, 54, of Salisbury had previously been sentenced for wire fraud conspiracy and identity theft in connection with the theft of over $1.8 million from Shore Appliance Connection, a local Salisbury business.
Prosecutors say that Franklin will spend more than five years behind bars followed by three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered that he pay restitution in the full amount of the victims' losses.
Franklin, according to his plea agreement, was the chief operating officer of Accurate Optical, a chain of optometric shops on the Eastern Shore. He and Larmore, an employee of Shore Appliance Connection at the time, met through the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce. From September 2016 to around March 2020. Franklin and Larmore conspired to steal the money from Shore Appliance.
Over $1 million was stolen by the defendants to use for various purposes, the Attorney's Office say, including investments and Franklin’s business expenses. One specific incident involved an oil deal with an initial investment of $100,000. Franklin, who didn’t have the required cash for the investment, reportedly had Larmore wire him the amount from Shore Appliances account. Franklin then attempted to wire the $100,000 to an individual in the United Kingdom, but that money was ultimately returned to Shore Appliance after a discrepancy was noticed with the beneficiaries name. Another $100,000 was transferred by Larmore at Franklin’s request for an attorney for the oil deal.
Other instances of theft cited by the Attorney's Office occurred when Franklin convinced Larmore to help invest $395,000 in another UK company in 2016, plus additional funds for travel abroad. Another in 2018 saw the duo invest $50,000 in Gateway Capital. None of the investments paid any returns.
Franklin reportedly had Larmore enter factoring contracts in which businesses can obtain cash by leveraging account receivable in order to hide the money being stolen from Shore Appliance. Without the knowledge or approval of the owners, Larmore entered Shore Appliance into one such factoring contract, providing the company cash deposits but requiring payments and interest of over $725,000.
The two schemers forged signatures of Shore Appliance’s owners with Franklin notarizing. Larmore and an employee of Franklin further posed as the owners to confirm the factoring contracts. Larmore also drew on Shore Appliance’s lines of credit for another $200,000.
In the face of financial difficulties for Franklin’s Accurate Optical, the Attorney's Office goes on to say, Franklin then requested more money from Larmore to pay Franklin’s rent and employee salaries. Shore Appliance money was also used to move Accurate Optical to a new location in Salisbury. This occurred all while Larmore continued to fund Franklin’s investment schemes through Shore Appliance funds.
The Attorney's Office says that, ultimately, due to Franklin’s and Larmore’s conspiracy, actual cash losses to Shore Appliance totaled $1,850,488.94 and intended losses totaled $2,137,674.74.
Larmore previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy.
