Watertown Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison for Stealing Over $1 Million from Employer

A Watertown man received a sentence of more than three years in prison for stealing more than $1 million from his former employer, Iron Mountain.

John J. Palandjian, 35, was given a 41 month (3 year, 5 month) sentence from Federal Court Judge Mark L. Wolf, according to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office. He will also have three years of supervised release and must pay $7,500 in fines and pay $1.148 million in restitution.

Palandjian pleaded guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud in October 2012, after being accused of stealing the money from his employer. According to a release from Ortiz's office:

From August 2010 to June 2011, Palandjian used Iron Mountain’s credit card to make unauthorized purchases and cash advances in excess of $1,148,000. Palandjian then altered the monthly credit card statements to hide his unauthorized charges and ensured that the bills were paid.

He could have faced up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his offenses. Before sentencing, Palandjian had requested a sentence of 33 months. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina E. Barclay of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.