ST. LOUIS – A St. Peters, Missouri, man who served as Webster University’s IT director appeared in federal court on Tuesday and admitted defrauding both his employer and an IT equipment seller in a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Ronald Simpson, 54, devised his plan in late November 2018.
Simpson admitted in court that he received university approval to purchase hundreds of pieces of IT equipment with the understanding that it would be installed on campus. Instead, Simpson sold that equipment to a third party, defrauding the university of a little over a million dollars.
Simpson reached out to the university’s IT supplier and falsely claimed the equipment they shipped him was defective. Simpson received replacement equipment and sold that as well. The IT supplier lost approximately $780,000 based on Simpson’s lies.
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Prosecutors said Simpson received $2,188,704 for the IT equipment he sold.
Simpson pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine when he’s sentenced on September 17.
In a statement to FOX 2, a Webster University spokesman confirmed Simpson’s employment and said the university ended its working relationship with Simpson in September 2023.
At Webster University, we expect our employees to conduct their job responsibilities according to the highest ethical standards. Last year, we became aware of, and concerned about, actions by Ronald D. Simpson, who at the time held a position in the university’s Information Technology department. Upon learning this information, we promptly notified federal law enforcement. Following a thorough investigation, Mr. Simpson’s employment relationship with the university ended in September 2023.
Today, Mr. Simpson has pled guilty to federal criminal charges. While we are not able to comment on this ongoing law enforcement proceeding, the crimes for which Mr. Simpson has admitted guilt represent intentional deception and deliberate violations of numerous policies and procedures that he was required to follow. We look forward to seeing this matter addressed through the justice system.
Over the past several months, we have enhanced purchasing procedures, protocols and audits to strengthen protections against this type of misconduct in the future.
Patrick Giblin, director of public relations, Webster University
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