Sherbacow sentenced to three years in prison for wire fraud

In Washington DC, Alder Fuels founder and former CEO Bryan Sherbacow was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison in connection with a scheme to embezzle at least $5.9 million and to defraud several investors out of approximately $15 million.

According to court documents, between 2021 and 2022, Bryan Sherbacow, 55, of Charleston, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C., defrauded the company he co-founded by transferring company funds without authorization to his personal bank account and by making unauthorized personal expenditures from a company bank account. Sherbacow attempted to conceal his actions by, among other things, emailing altered bank statements and other falsified financial records to the company’s outside accounting firm and members of the company’s board.

To raise additional funds for the company, Sherbacow also sent or caused to be sent altered bank statements and other falsified financial records to prospective and current investors. For example, Sherbacow caused a false and fabricated bank statement to be sent to two investors, in which Sherbacow intentionally removed transactions showing transfers from the company bank account to his personal bank account and falsified account balance information to make it appear that the company possessed more cash on hand than it possessed, due in part to Sherbacow’s unauthorized transfer of funds. Sherbacow also caused a balance sheet containing false and misleading financial information to be sent to another investor.  In at least partial reliance on the fabricated bank statement and false and misleading financial information, three investors collectively invested approximately $15 million. Sherbacow also misled an individual who loaned funds to the company regarding the company’s financial state.

Sherbacow pleaded guilty on Feb. 8 to wire fraud.

The company he founded, now Alder Renewables, continues to develop its advanced sustaiunable fuels technology with an emphasis on SAF.