HOUSTON (KIAH) — A Missouri City man will be serving a year and nine months in federal prison with a year of supervision.

Preston Allen Fredrich, 35, had pleaded guilty to wire fraud he committed from 2018 to 2021. He was convicted for a long-running scheme that cost his employer millions of dollars.

During that time, he stole from a family-owned company in north Houston that sold and re-fitted large trucks.

At the time, Fredrich was the lead salesmen. He submitted fake invoices, then collected the payments for himself.

He began by asking clients to send invoices directly to him, as opposed to the company. Then, he sent the invoices to the company with inflated expenses or unwanted upgrades, pocketing the difference for himself.

Fredrich also admitted that as the scheme progressed, he eventually set up a bank account with another individual who ran an auto-body shop that frequently did business with the victim company. Fredrich then submitted fake invoices from this company and hid them by bundling them with other legitimate invoices.    

 Fredrich was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

 The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Carter prosecuted the case.