Rome Man Pleads Guilty in Multi-Million-Dollar Timber Fraud Scheme Freeman Caused Temple-Inland Inc. to Pay More Than $4 Million Between 2003 and 2006 for Timber That Did Not Exist
ROME, GA—AARON WILBERT FREEMAN, 50, of Rome, Georgia, pleaded guilty before Senior United States District Judge Robert L. Vining in federal district court late yesterday to multiple charges relating to a $4 million scheme involving timber that did not exist. A jury had been selected and FREEMAN’s trial was set to begin today when FREEMAN pleaded late yesterday. United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said of yesterday’s guilty plea, “Paper is made from trees, but in this case, Freeman created trees out of paper. He did so by manipulating his employer’s computer system to create phony receipts for timber deliveries that never took place. He also recruited timber truck drivers to redeem the fake receipts for payment, then laundered the proceeds through multiple financial institutions.”