Man sentenced for embezzling Amgen

Jason Rimmer, 37, of San Mateo was recently sentenced to two years in state prison for embezzling more than $300,000 from Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks.

Rimmer, a former event planner with Amgen, provided codefendant Robert Nipar, 44, of Simi Valley with information to set up merchant accounts with American Express for fictitious businesses whose names were strikingly similar to Amgen's legitimate vendors.

Nipar then charged Amgen for nonexistent services and forwarded false invoices to Rimmer, who approved them for payment.

Funds for the payment on the bogus invoices were then deposited directly into Nipar's bank account. This scheme lasted for approximately one year.

Rimmer and Nipar both pleaded guilty to one count of felony grand theft last September. Nipar's sentencing is scheduled for May 16.