ATLANTA (AP) - Nine men have been arraigned on federal fraud
charges accusing them of tricking a Rome paper mill into paying
$4.8 million for ``phantom loads'' of timber.

The defendants are accused of scamming the Temple-Inland paper
mill from 2004 to 2006. Eight of the men were arraigned on Monday.

According to the indictment, Aaron Freeman worked as a scale
house operator at the mill and learned how to manipulate the
computer system to produce two weight readings when a single truck
passed through the mill's scale.

One reading would be the weight of timber actually delivered and
the other would be for a phantom load. Freeman then allegedly
recruited truck drivers to take credit for the phantom loads and
share the profits.

They were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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