Defendant must pay $80,000 in restitution and the company can file a civil suit against him to recover more funds.
SOMERVILLE - A Paramus man accused of stealing more than $1 million over a three-year period by overbilling a Somerset transportation company was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay restitution in Somerset County Superior Court Friday.
Mike Karapiperis (Somerset County Prosecutor's Office)Mike Karapiperis, 49, was an employee of Roadtex Transportation in the Somerset section of Franklin Township. During his duties, that included contracting and pricing trucking routes, he allegedly stole the funds, it was previously reported.
Under his plea agreement, Karapiperis pleaded guilty to second-degree theft, acknowledging he stole at least $75,000 from the company and has agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $80,000.
Since the amount of restitution is not what Roadtex Transportation alleged was stolen, the company has reserved the right to file a civil suit against Karapiperis, according to the plea agreement.
Assistant prosecutor William Guhl handled the case for the state.
In May of 2016 the company's owner reported that he was being over-billed for truck load deliveries by P & A Trucking Transportation, a company with whom Roadtex contracted with, authorities said.
An investigation revealed that Roadtex was charged inflated prices for shipping by P & A, a price that was set by Karapiperis, authorities stated. The excess money charged was deposited into Karapiperis' personal bank account, according to the prosecution.
Records showed that Karapiperis received more than $1 million in over-billed funds from P & A Trucking between 2012 and 2015 from money that had been charged to Roadtex, authorities stated.
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.