An Arizona CEO, James Vincent Campbell, has had his indictment unsealed in the District of Maryland. He was charged with embezzlement after it was discovered he’d acquired $2.4 million from an Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plan.
Campbell spent “a significant portion” of the funds he’d stolen between 2015 and 2024 to pay for his gambling habits at casinos, as well as “big game hunting trips” in Alaska and other locations around the world. It’s reported that he stole a total of $2,486,905, which the Office of Public Affairs states is beyond what was owed to Axim, the company he ran.
The CEO now faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the 11 counts of money laundering. He’ll also face an additional five years for the theft from the ERISA plan.
Axim’s business charged $40 a month to handle payments for clients who were paying insurance premiums and retirement benefits.
Arizona embezzlement case was launched in 2024
The investigation was launched in 2024, when it was suspected that Axim had mismanaged the funds. In the original claim, it was due to paying the expenses of their government contractor clients. Instead, Campbell was going on holiday to shoot wildlife and pay his girlfriend large sums of cash.
It was spotted when Axim began transferring funds into their operations account from the ERISA plans. Speaking back in 2024, Acting Regional Solicitor Samantha Thomas said:
“The Department of Labor will not hesitate to litigate against fiduciaries who misappropriate plan assets.
“Fiduciaries may not use ERISA plan assets to pay employers’ expenses, and those who do so should expect to face enforcement actions.”
It’s not often we report on embezzlement, but this year we’ve covered three individual stories around the charge. In March, a $9.6 million fine was slapped against The Olympic Casino Group, while in April, an ex-CEO was issued an arrest warrant. In July, a bookkeeper was also charged after spending $800K on gambling.
Featured image: Unsplash
