Former Virginia hauling company president pleads guilty to $8.8 million in fraud charges

The former president and COO of a Petersburg, Virginia-based hauling company is facing prison time following a guilty plea that he and a co-conspirator tried to defraud private lenders and banks out of more than $8.8 million.

In a Richmond federal courtroom, Robert Wayne Guidry, 54, was convicted of one count each of tax fraud, and wire and bank fraud, reports the Progress-Index. Guidry will be sentenced Sept. 7.

According to Eastern District of Virginia Court records, Guidry, along with Christopher W. Elko, sold ownership interests in Container First Services Inc. (CFS)—a company they developed with six other partners—to Charlotte, North Carolina-based Meridian Waste. The records indicate the pair also obtained loans under false pretenses and embezzled money from Meridian to make repayments, according to the Progress-Index.

“As part of the conspiracy, Guidry solicited and induced individuals to lend him money under false pretenses, claiming that the loans would be used for investment purposes—when, in fact, Guidry actually used the money to pay for personal expenses or to repay other lenders," a court statement says.

“For instance, the conspirators diverted customer payments owed to their employer to a bank account controlled by the conspirators, and fabricated payables to their employers’ vendors and others, depositing the payments into bank accounts they controlled,” the court adds.

Elko, 51, of Petersburg, was the former finance director for CFS and later Meridian. He pleaded guilty last year to similar charges and was sentenced to two three-year terms to be served concurrently.

The maximum time Guidry faces when he is sentenced in September is 30 years.