From WSJM-FM 94.9 on 3/11/2015:
Embezzlement, uttering and publishing and forgery are landing a 45-year-old St. Joseph man in prison for up to 20 years. John Page was sentenced this week in Battle Creek for stealing roughly $1 million from the Worgess Insurance Agency in the Cereal City, where he had been the firm's president. He took the money between December 2008 and last May, and said he was doing it in an attempt to save the company from financial ruin. Worgess is covering the losses through insurance and no clients suffered any losses. The firm's vice president, Jacob Worgess, disagreed with Page's contention that he was trying to save the company, as did Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert, who called it "greed and greed alone." Page was sentenced to a term of between five and 20 years behind bars.
Showing posts with label uttering and publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label uttering and publishing. Show all posts
Monday, March 16, 2015
Michigan Woman Accused Of Embezzling As Much As $500K
From the Grand Haven Tribune on 3/11/2015:
Jodi Lynn Kotrch, 47, is facing charges of embezzlement of more than $100,000, forgery, and uttering and publishing.
Meanwhile, her husband was arrested on a probation violation charge out of Berrien County.
A lawsuit filed in October 2014 claims Jodi Kotrch stole more than $500,000 from Magnum Outdoor LLC of Nunica, for whom she did accounting work.
“We believe she used her relationship with the company to convert funds for her personal use,” said Capt. Mark Bennett of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department. “She could have been responsible for up to $500,000 in funds taken between 2011 and 2014.”
Although Jodi Kotrch’s husband has not been charged in the embezzlement case, the lawsuit claims that Scott David Kotrch “assisted and conspired” with his wife “by selecting the vehicles, snowmobiles, boat and other personal property to be purchased with plaintiff’s funds.” It also claims that Scott Kotrch was aware that his wife was converting property that belonged to Magnum Outdoor LLC, and much of that property was titled solely in his name.
Bennett said police are still investigating the case and it is possible that there will be more charges.
Jodi Kotrch turned herself in to authorities at the Ottawa County Courthouse last week after a warrant was issued for her arrest. According to court records, she posted a $5,000/10 percent bond and is free pending her next court hearing, currently scheduled for March 17.
Scott Kotrch, 51, was originally charged with possession of a controlled substance (schedule 1 or 2 narcotic), according to Berrien County Prosecutor Mike Sepic. Kotrch was sentenced in April 2014 to two days in jail and one year of probation.
Sepic would not comment on what Scott Kotrch — who was on “jail hold” in Ottawa County before being transferred to Berrien County — may have done to violate his probation. Sepic said arraignment on the probation violation would likely happen within a day after Kotrch arrived in Berrien County.
Lawsuit status
The lawsuit claims that Jodi Kotrch used Magnum Outdoor LLC funds to purchase vehicles and pay off her husband’s credit card, joint credit cards, their mortgage payments and landscapers.
It claims the fraud was discovered after she bought a $200 steak with the company credit card.
On Oct. 13, 2014, an Ottawa County judge signed a temporary restraining order “enjoining the defendants from disposing of assets.”
Subsequent motions note that the Kotrches sold some of the vehicles that were named on a list and requested a show-cause hearing as to why they should not be charged with contempt for disregarding the court order.
The show-cause hearing was scheduled for March 2, but was rescheduled for a later date.
In a previous story, attorneys for both sides in the lawsuit said they were continuing to work toward a resolution and would not offer further comment.
Court records show that Jodi Kotrch filed for divorce from her husband in February.
Jodi Lynn Kotrch, 47, is facing charges of embezzlement of more than $100,000, forgery, and uttering and publishing.
Meanwhile, her husband was arrested on a probation violation charge out of Berrien County.
A lawsuit filed in October 2014 claims Jodi Kotrch stole more than $500,000 from Magnum Outdoor LLC of Nunica, for whom she did accounting work.
“We believe she used her relationship with the company to convert funds for her personal use,” said Capt. Mark Bennett of the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department. “She could have been responsible for up to $500,000 in funds taken between 2011 and 2014.”
Although Jodi Kotrch’s husband has not been charged in the embezzlement case, the lawsuit claims that Scott David Kotrch “assisted and conspired” with his wife “by selecting the vehicles, snowmobiles, boat and other personal property to be purchased with plaintiff’s funds.” It also claims that Scott Kotrch was aware that his wife was converting property that belonged to Magnum Outdoor LLC, and much of that property was titled solely in his name.
Bennett said police are still investigating the case and it is possible that there will be more charges.
Jodi Kotrch turned herself in to authorities at the Ottawa County Courthouse last week after a warrant was issued for her arrest. According to court records, she posted a $5,000/10 percent bond and is free pending her next court hearing, currently scheduled for March 17.
Scott Kotrch, 51, was originally charged with possession of a controlled substance (schedule 1 or 2 narcotic), according to Berrien County Prosecutor Mike Sepic. Kotrch was sentenced in April 2014 to two days in jail and one year of probation.
Sepic would not comment on what Scott Kotrch — who was on “jail hold” in Ottawa County before being transferred to Berrien County — may have done to violate his probation. Sepic said arraignment on the probation violation would likely happen within a day after Kotrch arrived in Berrien County.
Lawsuit status
The lawsuit claims that Jodi Kotrch used Magnum Outdoor LLC funds to purchase vehicles and pay off her husband’s credit card, joint credit cards, their mortgage payments and landscapers.
It claims the fraud was discovered after she bought a $200 steak with the company credit card.
On Oct. 13, 2014, an Ottawa County judge signed a temporary restraining order “enjoining the defendants from disposing of assets.”
Subsequent motions note that the Kotrches sold some of the vehicles that were named on a list and requested a show-cause hearing as to why they should not be charged with contempt for disregarding the court order.
The show-cause hearing was scheduled for March 2, but was rescheduled for a later date.
In a previous story, attorneys for both sides in the lawsuit said they were continuing to work toward a resolution and would not offer further comment.
Court records show that Jodi Kotrch filed for divorce from her husband in February.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Michigan Man Pleads Guilty In $625K Embezzlement Case
From the Battle Creek Enquirer on 1/12/2015:
A man who took more than a half-million dollars from a Battle Creek insurance agency faces a prison sentence after pleading guilty Monday.
John Page, 44, of St. Joseph, pleaded guilty to charges of embezzlement, forgery and uttering and publishing between December 2008 and May 2014 when he was former president of the Worgess Insurance Agency at 2 W. Michigan Ave.
He faces up to 20 years in prison but Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert estimated he will serve a minimum of five years under Michigan’s sentencing guidelines.
Page entered his guilty pleas after appearing with his attorney, John Gardiner of Kalamazoo, for a preliminary examination before Calhoun County District Judge Frank Line. Line sat as a circuit court judge to accept the pleas but Page will be sentenced later by a circuit judge. No date for that sentencing was set Monday.
Prosecutors have alleged that Page took money from the agency and also applied for loans for premium payments from other financial institutions.
They alleged he stole about $625,000 during those 51/2 years. He had been employed at the agency since 1991.
Several Worgess executives were in the courtroom and vice president Jacob Worgess said later that watching the plea was “kind of a mixture of sadness and relief.”
He said he watched an associate for 15 years enter a guilty plea.
...
Read the whole story here.
Update (3/9/2015): Page was sentenced to 20 years. Read the update here.
A man who took more than a half-million dollars from a Battle Creek insurance agency faces a prison sentence after pleading guilty Monday.
John Page, 44, of St. Joseph, pleaded guilty to charges of embezzlement, forgery and uttering and publishing between December 2008 and May 2014 when he was former president of the Worgess Insurance Agency at 2 W. Michigan Ave.
He faces up to 20 years in prison but Calhoun County Prosecutor David Gilbert estimated he will serve a minimum of five years under Michigan’s sentencing guidelines.
Page entered his guilty pleas after appearing with his attorney, John Gardiner of Kalamazoo, for a preliminary examination before Calhoun County District Judge Frank Line. Line sat as a circuit court judge to accept the pleas but Page will be sentenced later by a circuit judge. No date for that sentencing was set Monday.
Prosecutors have alleged that Page took money from the agency and also applied for loans for premium payments from other financial institutions.
They alleged he stole about $625,000 during those 51/2 years. He had been employed at the agency since 1991.
Several Worgess executives were in the courtroom and vice president Jacob Worgess said later that watching the plea was “kind of a mixture of sadness and relief.”
He said he watched an associate for 15 years enter a guilty plea.
...
Read the whole story here.
Update (3/9/2015): Page was sentenced to 20 years. Read the update here.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Michigan Priest, Found Guilty Of Embezzling $131K, Gets Light Sentence
From Mlive.com on 12/15/2014:
Charitable money supplied by the Archdiocese of Detroit for the needy instead went to an unscrupulous priest and his accomplice, a Wayne County jury found.
But Wayne County Circuit Judge Bruce Morrow gave Father Timothy J. Kane, 58, of Detroit, a break at his sentencing Monday.
Sentencing guidelines called for the religious leader to spend a minimum of three years behind bars, but Morrow only sentenced the priest to 1/3 the time, and spread it out over four years.
Kane was sentenced to 12 months in the Wayne County Jail to be served in the months of December and January for the next 5 years, a statement from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office says, and was also given 5 years of probation and restitution of $131,400.
"This is a most unusual sentence that is below the defendant's guidelines," Assistant Prosecutor and prosecutor's office spokeswoman Maria Miller said in a prepared statement. "It is especially troubling considering that he was convicted as charged of multiple counts of stealing money from the poor.
"We will be determining whether we will appeal the case in the next several days."
Kane, former associate pastor of St. Gregory the Great and Church of Madonna, both in Detroit, as well as St. Benedict in Highland Park, was convicted of operating a continuing criminal enterprise, using a computer to commit a crime, uttering and publishing, conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing embezzlement from a charitable institution and conspiracy to embezzle from a charitable institution.
His accomplice, 35-year-old Dorreca Brewer of Jackson, pleaded no contest to the charges against her and received probation in October.
Charitable money supplied by the Archdiocese of Detroit for the needy instead went to an unscrupulous priest and his accomplice, a Wayne County jury found.
But Wayne County Circuit Judge Bruce Morrow gave Father Timothy J. Kane, 58, of Detroit, a break at his sentencing Monday.
Sentencing guidelines called for the religious leader to spend a minimum of three years behind bars, but Morrow only sentenced the priest to 1/3 the time, and spread it out over four years.
Kane was sentenced to 12 months in the Wayne County Jail to be served in the months of December and January for the next 5 years, a statement from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office says, and was also given 5 years of probation and restitution of $131,400.
"This is a most unusual sentence that is below the defendant's guidelines," Assistant Prosecutor and prosecutor's office spokeswoman Maria Miller said in a prepared statement. "It is especially troubling considering that he was convicted as charged of multiple counts of stealing money from the poor.
"We will be determining whether we will appeal the case in the next several days."
Kane, former associate pastor of St. Gregory the Great and Church of Madonna, both in Detroit, as well as St. Benedict in Highland Park, was convicted of operating a continuing criminal enterprise, using a computer to commit a crime, uttering and publishing, conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing embezzlement from a charitable institution and conspiracy to embezzle from a charitable institution.
His accomplice, 35-year-old Dorreca Brewer of Jackson, pleaded no contest to the charges against her and received probation in October.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Former Michigan Bookkeeper Charged With Embezzling More Than $1 Million
Pamela Rene Heavner, 53, of Fenton, Michigan has been charged with embezzling more than $1 million from WPM Construction, where she had been employed as a payroll clerk. According to prosecutors, Heavner siphoned funds from the company over a five year period beginning 2005 through a sophisticated payroll scheme. Heavner was arraigned last week on a 39-count warrant, including 10 counts of embezzlement, 12 counts of uttering and publishing, 11 counts of larceny, 5 counts of fraudulent use of a computer and one count of conducting a criminal enterprise. Heavner had been employed by WPM for some 20 years.Update (9/27/10): Heavner pleaded guilty in a plea agreement to 7 felony counts, including four counts of embezzlement of at least $20,000, two counts of using a computer to commit fraudulent access and one count of uttering and publishing. She is due to be sentenced on October 4th.
Update (12/28/10): Heavner was sentenced to 23 months to 14 years in prison. She must also pay $610,200 in restitution.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Massachusetts Woman Sentenced For Embezzling $240K From Rhode Island Company
Sherrie Gagne, 41, of Seekonk, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for embezzling nearly $240,000 from Cranston, Rhode Island-based 4 Seasons Carpet Workshop Inc., where she had been employed as office manager. Prosecutors alleged that from September 2005 until January 2007, Gagne issued 91 checks to herself totaling $237,363 for her own personal benefit. She had pleaded no contest to one count of embezzlement over $100, one count of uttering and publishing a false instrument -- forging and counterfeiting checks -- and one count of obstruction of justice. As part of the sentence, Gagne must also make full restitution and will have 6 1/2 years of probation following her prison term.
Read the story here and here.
Read the story here and here.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Former Michigan Office Administrator Arrested For Allegedly Embezzling More Than $200K
Lona Jean Aldrich, 52, of Vermontville, Michigan, was arrested Tuesday on charges she embezzled "well in excess" of $200,000 from EYE & ENT Specialists in Hastings, Michigan, where she had been employed as office administrator for 13 years. Specifically, Aldrich was charged with embezzlement over $100,000, using a computer to commit a crime, and uttering and publishing.
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