Greece man charged with stealing close to half a million dollars from employer

ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Robert Tantalo, 43 of Greece, NY, was charged by criminal complaint with wire fraud and the transportation and sale of stolen goods in interstate commerce, which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

According to the criminal complaint, Tantalo was the controller for a group of companies that operated under common management (Victim Company). As controller, he oversaw accounting, auditing, financial reporting, and budget preparation, as well as bank accounts, credit cards, and assets and was responsible for disbursing funds to pay expenses and payroll. As a result, Tantalo had access to the personal information of every employee and member of the Victim Company, some of whom were issued credit cards for the payment of business expenses. Tantalo was responsible for obtaining those credit cards and distributing them, giving him access to each of the Victim Company's bank account numbers, credit card numbers, expiration dates, and security codes.

In March 2026, Tantalo resigned from the Victim Company. After his departure, the Victim Company discovered that between February 2025 and April 2026, he used a company credit card to make approximately 248 personal, unauthorized purchases totaling approximately $492,996.96. These purchases included residential property tax payments, gift cards and electronics from Target, and electronics from Amazon, which Tantalo then resold on eBay. He masked the purchases by using multiple Victim Company bank accounts to make structured payments towards the balance of the card and by making false entries in the Victim Company's books and records. According to the Victim Company, Tantalo was the only person with access to all of the bank accounts and therefore was the only person who could have made credit card payments.

Tantalo made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen and was released on conditions.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire. The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff Todd Baxter and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Patrone.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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