SHADY SPRING, WV (WVNS) — A Raleigh County man was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay a heavy fine for his role in a fraudulent case of wire fraud and money laundering.

Paul Richard Massey, 51 of Shady Spring was sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his involvement in a fraudulent scheme. Following his prison sentenced, Massey was ordered to pay $862,871 in restitution. Massey admitted to engaging in wire fraud and money laundering while working at Allstate Insurance Company, where he issued fraudulent payments and used the money to support his personal business.

Massey confessed to authorizing a check totaling $15,110 on behalf of Allstate to a business called American Mitigation Services LLC in December 2018. This payment was meant for mitigation work supposedly conducted by AMS Cleaning but was a fraudulent transaction. Massey reported he had a personal connection with AMS Cleaning and was an authorized signer on the business’s bank account.

The fraudulent funds, deposited into AMS Cleaning’s bank account, were used to finance Massey’s personal business, Massey Powersports LLC. Massey used this money to pay employees, purchase inventory, and cover various business expenses.

In an attempt to deceive investigators, Massey made false claims, stating he had no financial interest in AMS Cleaning and even created a illegitimate $1 million contract, falsely suggesting that AMS Cleaning had been sold to a nonexistent company.