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Date: Sept. 28, 2026
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
Huntington, WV – Jerod Timothy Vannatter of Barboursville pleaded guilty today to money laundering. Vannatter admitted that he embezzled $624,599.86 from a nonprofit veterinary clinic he managed.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Vannatter was the clinic’s manager from approximately February 2018 to approximately February 2025 and oversaw all administrative functions, including payroll and vendor payments. As part of his guilty plea, Vannatter admitted that he conducted his fraud scheme from approximately October 2022 until approximately December 2024. Vannatter made multiple payroll and other unearned deposits into his personal checking account using numerous checks he issued from the clinic’s bank account. Vannatter also created false vendor invoices to initiate payments from the clinic’s bank account and directed those illicit payments to his personal checking account.
As part of his embezzlement scheme, Vannatter transferred $20,000 in embezzled funds from his checking account to his savings account on Oct. 11, 2023. Vannatter admitted that he embezzled a total of $624,599.86, that he initiated and carried out his embezzlement scheme because he was addicted to online gambling, and that he lost all the proceeds from his scheme as a result of gambling.
Vannatter is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 16, 2027, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Vannatter also owes $624,599.86 in restitution.
United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Barboursville Police Department.
United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan T. Storage is prosecuting the case.
IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.