FBI manhunt: Who is the CEO in suspected $35M payroll heist?
The abrupt demise of a New York payroll processing company is sending shock waves through the U.S., with thousands of employees in the dark about paychecks they expected to receive and money that disappeared from their accounts.
Some were left with negative bank balances after MyPayrollHR vanished with nearly $35 million in payroll funds from customer businesses, directly impacting employees who had been receiving direct deposits from the firm on a bi-weekly basis, according to reports. Not only did money from payroll funds disappear, but so did cash from some employee accounts, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity.
Michael Mann, who is the CEO of MyPayrollHR's parent ValueWise, seemingly lacks a picture of any kind online. To date, no news organizations have posed a photograph of either Mann or his wife, Kim, though information about Mann himself is available.
Mann's LinkedIn account indicates he had been president of ValueWise Corp. since October 2007. For the previous 10 years, he served as vice president of eLoyalty, a TeleTech Company.
His LinkedIn account showed rave reviews from colleagues, with one describing him as caring about his clients and "truly a pleasure to work with."
TeleTech did not answer FOX Business' calls for comment regarding Mann's employment.
ValueWise's website, accessible in part through the Wayback Machine, lists Mann as the president and CEO of the company along with four other executives. ValueWise's website no longer exists, but the management consulting firm is still listed on LinkedIn with 188 followers.
ValueWise Corporation LinkedIn
MyPayrollHR no longer has a website either, though it remains listed on LinkedIn.
MyPayrollHR LinkedIn
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The FBI office in Albany confirmed to FOX Business that agents were at Mann's Saratoga County property late Monday afternoon in connection with a federal investigation but wouldn't provide further details. The New York Attorney General's Office declined to comment.
According to Saratoga County property records, Mann and his wife paid more than $300,000 to purchase their waterfront home in 2015. The full market value of the property now, according to the records, is $540,773.
The FBI is still asking for more potential victims to come forward.