Nick & Carolyn Ryberg:
Finding Faith through a Felony
Biographical Background
From the outside, one might wonder how Nick and Carolyn Ryberg allowed themselves to become involved in white collar crime. They seemed to have it all: a good marriage, two children, and a comfortable home in a Twin Cities suburb. Carolyn owned a growing interior design business and Nick was a corporate human resources executive with Koch Petroleum, a division of Koch Industries, the largest privately held company in the United States. Underneath it all the Rybergs had begun to engage in serious ethical missteps. In 1999, based on Nick's suggestion, Carolyn opened a company called Sourcing Unlimited to provide search and research support to Nick's employer. Nick recounts that "there was a significant backlog of open positions and huge opportunity for search and recruiting firms to support this need." The Rybergs believed this was an opportunity for Carolyn to grow a new business and at the same time provide additional income for the family. In order to minimize attention to this business relationship Nick advised Carolyn to use her maiden name, a common practice in the search industry. The company became a certified vendor for Koch and under Nick's direction, Carolyn began providing services. In the Ryberg's eyes, what appeared to be at worst, a conflict of interest, was in reality the initial foundation for a long series of unethical and illegal transactions. Very early in the process, work product became less and less. The business arrangement soon grew into a false invoicing process. A key lesson Carolyn shares, "small missteps lead to bigger and bigger problems. We did not sit down one day and say to each other, hey, let's go steal one million dollars!" The Ryberg acknowledge the "ground was fertilized" with a variety of relational and marital issues, the desire to live out the perception of an "executive lifestyle", a poor support system and growing sense of entitlement and arrogance.
In order to minimize exposure within the company's budget, Nick recommended that Carolyn open an additional company, Fordham Consultants, under the same auspices as Sourcing Unlimited. During the latter stages of Nick's employment with the company, a third business, Personnel Resources, was opened. Nick recalls how he continued to rationalize the whole thing. "We paid taxes and reported the full revenue of all of the businesses, I believed I had the authority and power to manage the situation and that nobody would dare question me. My sense of entitlement and ego were the size of Montana, Ryberg recalls. At the same time, my conscience and guilt were eating me away from the inside out. I knew it was wrong from early on." Despite Carolyn's questions, Nick assured her it was okay and he could manage it if anything ever came up.
In 2003 Nick left the company and the Ryberg's decided to invest in and operate a staffing franchise, Management Recruiters, in Apple Valley, MN. Within the first year of Nick leaving the company, Koch Industries discovered the fraud and sued the Ryberg's in Federal Civil Court. From 1999 to 2003, the Rybergs received approximately $1 million largely due to fraudulent invoices. "We were shocked to see the total amount. Neither of us thought it was even close to this amount. That's how insane things were." Once the civil suit came to a close the Rybergs hired a well known criminal attorney. The case was referred to the US Attorney's office and the Rybergs began the process of working out a plea agreement. In 2004, they plead guilty to three counts of mail fraud. Knowing that prison was now not only a reality but imminent, the Rybergs began the process of selling all of their assets and personal effects, finding new homes for their two teenage daughters, and preparing their affairs to serve prison terms concurrently
In February of 2005 Nick and Carolyn were sentenced to 30 and 24 months respectively, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In addition, they were ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $964,264.57.
Presentation by Carolyn & Nick Ryberg (and Hank Shea)
The Rybergs' presentation reveals how a misguided and unbalanced value system, arrogance, entitlement and opportunity paved the way to a self-destructive path of criminal wrongdoing, eventually leading to a felony conviction. Although most people would be devastated by a federal criminal conviction, the Rybergs view their conviction as an extraordinary gift; a blessing, "In God's infinite wisdom and mercy we were brought to justice and given the opportunity to accept responsibility for our wrongdoings." During Carolyn's federal sentencing she resolved "to walk out the other side a better wife, a better mother, a better citizen," and, indeed, she has. Nick also has dedicated his time to sharing his story and lessons learned to fellow business professionals. In addition to their work with the Holloran Center, Nick and Carolyn own a consulting firm called Ethos-One which is focused on private sector ethics speaking and training (www.ethos-one.com). Nick reminds his audience, "If I can prevent just one person from going down the path I travelled, I will feel like I have had some success on this earth." The Rybergs tell a remarkable story of the profound impact their experiences have had on their life, family and marriage.
This is a unique joint appearance with Hank Shea, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and current Fellow at the University of St. Thomas School of Law's Holloran Center for Ethical Leadership in the Professions, who brings his almost two decades of experience as a federal prosecutor to the presentation. As the Rybergs give a personal account of their crimes and the impact on their lives, Shea provides the government's perspective on white collar crime and punishment in the federal system.
Lessons to be Learned from the Rybergs
The Rybergs' story provides an invaluable lesson on both business ethics. "We're all one bad decision away from being here," Carolyn says. "All it takes is one lie." The Rybergs demonstrate that there are consequences for everyday decisions and urge both students and professionals to reflect on how they conduct themselves not only in their professional lives, but in their private lives as well, "If there is a gap between your public and private life, an inconsistency between the two, then it's time to humble yourself and get help. Do an honest self evaluation with good solid accountability partners." The Rybergs' outlook on white collar crime is unique because they are white collar criminals who can speak from the perspective of faith.
Audiences may also request the Rybergs include in their presentation the instrumental role faith played in their renewal, reconciliation and commitment to Christian-centered values and principles.
To schedule a presentation with Hank Shea, Nick and Carolyn Ryberg, please contact: hjshea@stthomas.edu.
NEW: Video Previews of Carolyn & Nick Ryberg
Click on the photos below for 2-minute video previews of Nick or Carolyn's story.
More on the Rybergs:
In November, 2008, more than 500 hundred college students attended a presentation the Rybergs gave with Hank Shea.
The Rybergs participated in a podcast with Hank Shea by St. Cloud State communications students.
Click HERE for the full podcast.
May 2009: Link to Concordia College's eNews story on the Rybergs' presentation.
Reviews of Presentations by the Rybergs:
"What Carolyn is doing is the most influential educational experience about business ethics we could possibly give students. I sincerely hope she recognizes how incredibly important it is that her story continues to be shared with today's youth. There are numerous business settings, as well, that her story will influence in terms of people speaking out against the behavior, stopping the behavior, and leaving environments practicing such behavior.
Carolyn has great internal strength to do what she is doing and I admire that greatly. Many, many people will benefit from her strength. I firmly believe that in the end, what she is giving back will be so much more than what she took."
- Lynn O. Ludwig,
Professor at St. Cloud State University
"The presentation by Carolyn and Nick Ryberg, in partnership with Hank Shea, was extremely valuable to our organization. The Rybergs demonstrated great courage and humility standing before a group of business people, describing their thought process, how they rationalized their behavior, and how they ultimately accepted responsibility for their actions. The fact that they are willing to openly share their story provides a learning opportunity for any business seeking increased awareness in the fraud and risk arena.
They provided insight into how they formulated their plan to defraud, which in turn, causes us, as a business, to take a closer look at our processes, identify gaps and take a more proactive role in preventing situations like this from occurring in the first place. At a time when the daily news regularly delivers stories of corporate embezzlements and scams, every business in the country must have heightened awareness to the risk of fraud, particularly in these difficult economic times."
- Brad Brekke,
Vice President, Assets Protection at
Target Corporation
