North Charlotte Today

Marc Weiss, a 50-year-old resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for embezzling approximately $1.6 million from two small businesses. The sentence was announced by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Following his prison term, Weiss will also serve three years of supervised release and has been ordered to pay restitution amounting to $1,644,235.77.

The announcement was made in conjunction with Jason Byrnes, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service's Charlotte Field Office, and Sheriff Darren Campbell of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

Court documents revealed that between 2016 and 2022, Weiss exploited his role as a bookkeeper at two Mooresville-based small businesses to carry out his fraudulent activities. He executed over 100 unauthorized transfers from the companies' accounts into bank accounts he controlled. During this period, Weiss started embezzling from the second company while still defrauding the first one. To cover up his actions, he fabricated entries in the companies' financial records, misrepresenting the illicit transfers as legitimate payments for services such as software development and marketing.

Weiss used some of the stolen funds to support a lavish lifestyle. His expenditures included rent for an upscale apartment in uptown Charlotte; luxury vehicles like an Audi and a Mercedes-Benz; purchases from high-end retailers such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci; and vacations at luxury destinations including stays at The Ritz Carlton hotel.

In October 2023, Weiss entered a guilty plea to wire fraud charges. He is required to report to a federal facility designated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

U.S. Attorney King expressed gratitude towards the U.S. Secret Service and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office for their roles in investigating this case. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.