Federal prosecutors have filed bank fraud charges against the president of an Indiana trucking company that closed abruptly, leaving some of its drivers stranded without gas money and pay, the Associated Press reported. An initial hearing is set for Tuesday, Nov. 1, and a jury trial is planned for December.
The FBI began investigating Premier Transportation Service Inc., based in Fairmount, in April after drivers said the company closed without paying them. A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Beverly K. Wimmer, 50, who prosecutors said submitted false documents regarding the company’s invoices and accounts receivable to the State Bank of Lizton, according to the AP. Wimmer then received an unauthorized $1.72 million loan from the bank, U.S. Attorney Susan Brooks said in a statement. The false documents were submitted between approximately June 24, 2004, and Jan. 31, the indictment says.
Premier Transportation employed about 60 drivers, dispatchers and staff with locations in Grant County, 50 miles northeast of Indianapolis, and Oklahoma. In April, Wimmer told the Chronicle-Tribune of Marion that she shut the company’s doors because of the health of some key employees. Drivers said in April that they sensed for months that the business was having financial troubles, but that they did not expect it to close abruptly, leaving their supply of fuel money cut off while working far from home.
