Gorman Guilty of Fraud
Palm Beach Gardens, FL-based D.J. Gorman, Inc.’s 26-year history came to a sad end in April, when ceo Daniel W. Gorman was sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of fraud.
Gorman had been arrested on charges alleging that he bilked the Florida Department of Citrus out of more than $100,000 by submitting fraudulent invoices and falsifying checks while serving as the department’s agency of record in 1998 and 1999.
He entered a guilty plea soon after his arrest, and was sentenced to 180 days in a county work-release program, 180 days of house arrest, 100 hours of community service, and five years probation. He was also ordered to reimburse about $90,000 to the Department of Citrus and pay the state’s investigation costs.
“We’re glad that this was resolved through legal channels,” says Eric Boomhower, the department’s marketing communications director for orange juice. Boomhower says the department had already terminated its contract with Gorman over “quality of service issues” before it discovered the financial improprieties last fall.
The once-successful D.J. Gorman went out of business sometime last year, after it began experiencing cash-flow problems that former employees blamed on Gorman’s use of company income for personal expenses, according to local media reports.
The agency was founded in 1974 by Daniel J. Gorman, who turned the business over to his son in 1998. The shop was a perennial member of the promo 100, reaching a rank of 13th in 1998 before dropping to 25th last year on reported net revenues of $4 million and billings of $6.2 million.
