Trading firm employee gets 3 years for $1 million fraud

A former employee of a Chicago trading firm was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday after he admitted he took $1.1 million in company funds for his own use, according to federal prosecutors.

At the time of his arrest, Joseph Tagler worked as a back office manager and member of the board of directors of Eagle Market Makers, a company that services futures traders in Chicago.

He took more than $1.1 million in company money between January 2012 and January 2014 by forging signatures on checks and concealing the thefts in company records, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Tagler, 30, began working for company in 2008 and was fired last April after company officials discovered the scheme while preparing tax returns, authorities said.

Prosecutors claim he took the money through unauthorized wire transfers and checks made out to “cash,” using it to buy property in Indiana for himself and a relative.

Tagler, of Oak Lawn, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in August, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Judge James Zagel imposed the three-year sentence at a hearing Thursday.

He must begin serving his prison term April 7, and must serve two years of court supervision after his release, authorities said. He was also ordered to pay more than $1.1 million in restitution.