GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – A federal judge shuts down a request from a former De Pere man who wanted parts of his case reexamined.
Ron Van Den Heuvel, who is now in his early 70s and living in Georgia, sent the letter to the federal court in Green Bay late last month. He was convicted of federal fraud in 2018, after pleading guilty.
Authorities said he defrauded investors of more than $9 million, including more than $1 million from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, after promoting plans for a business called Green Box, which he said would turn solid waste into energy.
Van Den Heuvel asked the judge to address several issues, but the judge decided there were previous opportunities to argue them.
Van Den Heuvel was initially sentenced to seven and a half years in federal prison.
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PAYROLL & HR CONTROLS (PREVENTING “GHOST” SCHEMES)
Payroll fraud is often the hardest to detect because it “looks” like a normal business expense.
- Segregation of Duties (SoD): The person who adds new employees to the system must not be the same person who approves the monthly pay run.
- Mandatory Vacation Policy: Require all financial and HR staff to take 5–10 consecutive days of leave annually. Fraud often surfaces when the perpetrator isn’t there to “hide” the trail.
- Ghost Employee Audit: Perform a quarterly “Headcount Reconciliation” where managers must physically verify every name on their payroll list exists.
- Self-Pay Blocking: Ensure the payroll software has a hard-coded block preventing administrators from editing their own salary or bank details.