A Charlotte man has entered a guilty plea in a federal case involving the embezzlement of more than $1.5 million from a pair of Iredell County companies. 48-year-old Marc Weiss appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler Wednesday (October 18) and pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Weiss embezzled approximately $1.6 million from two Mooresville companies.

The announcement was made by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Sheriff Darren Campbell of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office was among those who joined U.S. Attorney King in making the announcement.

According to filed court documents and Wednesday’s plea hearing, from 2016 to 2022, Weiss engaged in a scheme to defraud two Mooresville companies, where he was employed as a bookkeeper. Over the course of the scheme, Weiss abused his position and access to the companies’ financial accounts to make more than 120 fraudulent transfers totaling $1.6 million from the companies’ accounts into bank accounts under Weiss’s control.

To disguise the fraud, Weiss created fake entries in the victim companies’ books and records, categorizing the fraudulent transfers as payments to existing vendors for software development, and advertising and marketing expenses. As Weiss admitted in court, he generally used the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including to pay for a luxury apartment in Charlotte, to make payments for high-end vehicles, and to pay for travel and vacations.

Weiss was released on bond following Wednesday’s plea hearing. The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A sentencing date for Weiss had not been set. In making Wednesday’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the U.S. Secret Service and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office for their investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny G. Sugar of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.