Ex-credit supervisor charged with stealing $1.6M from Melville company for wedding expenses, renovating restaurant, federal prosecutors say

A South Carolina man allegedly embezzled more than $1 million from his Melville-based employer, some of which funded his wedding and luxury vacations, federal authorities said Friday.

An indictment unsealed in federal court in Central Islip Friday charged Tony Ream, 33, of Greenville, South Carolina, with money laundering and wire fraud, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr. announced in a news release.

In 2019, Ream was hired at “a worldwide distributor of medical and dental supplies with its principal place of business in Melville,” according to the release. He became the company’s credit supervisor the following year.

While in this role, Ream “stole corporate funds from customer refund accounts and diverted the funds to his own accounts,” Nocella’s office said. Ream also allegedly tricked employees under him into assisting him in his fraudulent behavior.

Throughout a span of four years, Ream conducted wire transfers totaling around $1.6 million from a bank account belonging to the Melville-based company to his own, federal authorities said, and he spent tens of thousands of dollars on a failed restaurant in his home state, his wedding and vacations.

“As alleged, Ream is a thief who abused his authority and betrayed his employer to fund his lifestyle, including paying for the renovations of a restaurant he opened, footing the bill for his own wedding, and traveling around the world, all on the company’s dime,” Nocella said.

During his arraignment in federal court on Friday, Ream pleaded not guilty to the charges in the indictment, according to Denise Taylor, a spokesperson for the Eastern District. Ream was released on a $150,000 bond.

Raymond C. Baierlein, the defense attorney representing Ream, did not immediately return a message left at his office Friday afternoon.

Ream faces up to 20 years behind bars if he is convicted, according to Nocella’s office.