A Wood County man has been sentenced to two years in prison after confessing to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Toledo-based computer technology firm he was entrusted to lead.
Blake Underwood, 45, of Perrysburg, received a 24-month prison term from U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary after pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud in May. After finishing his sentence, Underwood will serve three years on supervised release.
Underwood previously worked for Nemsys, LLC, a Toledo-based IT support company. When the firm owners relocated to Florida to focus on creating a second company, Underwood was appointed CEO and tasked with monitoring Nemsys’ operations.
However, according to court filings, Underwood exploited that trust from December 2019 until April 2023, devising a long-running conspiracy to divert business monies to his personal expenses. Though he was not authorized to do so, Underwood diverted funds intended for the revitalization of a historic property in Toledo to purchase construction supplies for his own home.
His misuse of company funds extended far beyond building supplies. In 2023, as the company’s financial situation deteriorated, the owners discovered that Underwood had been secretly using Nemsys funds for years to cover personal credit card bills, purchase vehicles, join golf clubs, and buy jewelry—none of which had any legitimate business purpose.
“Underwood used Nemsys funds intended for the revitalization of a historic Toledo property to purchase building supplies for his personal home,” according to court paperwork. His fraudulent activity continued until corporate leadership began looking into the causes for Nemsys’ decreased earnings, which eventually revealed the entire extent of the financial malfeasance.
The sentence emphasizes the repercussions of abusing executive authority for personal benefit, particularly when small enterprises rely on personnel to behave in the company’s best interests.
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