Man headed to prison after pleading guilty to draining millions from a Centre County business’ pension fund
A former Tennessee-based securities broker who drained nearly $6 million from a Centre County business’ pension fund was sentenced Thursday and couldn’t avoid prison time.
John S. Jumper, 56, was sentenced by federal Judge Matthew W. Brann to 6 1/2 years in prison and was ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution. He was also sentenced to three years of supervised release, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors wrote in an email.
He’s scheduled to report within 30 days.
An April 2018 indictment accused Jumper of embezzling $5.7 million from the pension fund for employees of Snow Shoe Refractories, a fire brick manufacturer in Clarence. He pleaded guilty in April 2021 to one count of wire fraud.
Nearly 130 active and retired employees were covered by the plan when when the indictment was filed.
A federal prosecutor wrote in sentencing memo that Jumper “employed a considerably greater level of planning and concealment than a typical embezzlement.”
He misappropriated the money in three tranches and transferred the stolen funds to multiple accounts, Assistant U.S. Attorney George J. Rocktashel wrote. Jumper also forged the signature of principal owner Brett Blair — a man he was friends with for about four decades — on several documents.
He used $1.2 million to pay off personal debt, purchase three small businesses and pay off legal fees, fines and penalties levied by securities regulators, Rocktashel wrote.
“The grave impact of that fraudulent misappropriation of employee pension funds continues to this day, and Jumper’s theft not only jeopardized the financial soundness of both the pension plan and its sponsor Snowshoe Refractories, it caused substantial stress and anxiety to the owner of the company and his family,” Rocktashel wrote.
Defense lawyer Edward J. Rymsza asked Brann to sentence Jumper to house arrest or probation.
Jumper’s medical conditions include deep vein thrombosis, type II diabetes and a genetic blood disorder, Rymsza wrote in a sentencing memo. He also described Jumper’s crime as “completely aberrational when viewed in the context of his entire product adult life.”
Rymsza did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Jumper was debarred from the securities industry. He was also sued by the business and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the latter of which required Jumper to turn over nearly $6.5 million.
“My client is satisfied that justice has been done,” said attorney Drew Clayton, who represented the business in its lawsuit against Jumper. “He will continue to deal with the ramifications of the theft even though almost $4 million has been recovered. He still has to deal a pension shortfall and is trying to deal with the very challenging situation as best he can.”