A former executive at StyleHaul Inc., a digital marketing company that represents “influencers” on Instagram and YouTube, pleaded guilty on Nov. 22 to federal criminal charges of embezzling more than $22 million from his employer and using the stolen money for personal expenses and gambling.

Dennis Blieden, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

From October 2015 to March 2019, Blieden was controller and vice president of accounting and finance for StyleHaul, which was formerly based in Hollywood.

The defendant controlled the company’s bank accounts and wired company money to his personal bank account, according to a plea agreement.

To conceal his scheme, Blieden made fraudulent entries in StyleHaul’s accounting records, falsely representing that the illegal wire transfers he made were authorized payments of money owed to clients. Blieden also falsely indicated on one of StyleHaul’s bank accounts that wire transfers to his personal bank account were “equity” draws that the company owed him, according to court documents.

Furthermore, the defendant created fictitious letters purported to be from Western Union that were intended to make it appear that he transferred money from the company to pay clients, the plea agreement states.

Authorities said Blieden also disguised his fraud by creating a fictitious lease in May 2018 for the rental of a condominium in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, which included a forged signature of a StyleHaul executive, according to the plea agreement.

Blieden admitted that he illicitly transferred $230,000 of the company’s funds and falsely represented that the condominium was being rented for business purposes for clients and employees. That conduct formed the basis of the aggravated identity theft charge.

Blieden, who has entered and won professional poker tournaments, also frequently engaged in online gambling with crypto-currency he purchased with embezzled money, according to court documents.

The defendant used money he stole from his employer to write $1.2 million in personal checks to poker players. He also used $1.1 million to pay off personal credit cards, and transferred $8.4 million to personal crypto-currency accounts, according to court documents. United States District Judge André Birotte Jr. scheduled a March 20 sentencing hearing. If convicted, the defendant faces 22 years in federal prison.