Eighty-year-old Charles Esposito of Hainesport, NJ, who worked as an accounting manager for Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope for 45 years, was sentenced to five years in state prison on June 9 after admitting to stealing $2.5 million from his former employer, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Assistant Prosecutor Joseph Remy said during the sentencing hearing that ol’ Chuck was pissed off with some of the company’s policies, including a recent downsizing, so he decided to do a little embezzling:
“Certainly, because you disagree with the company’s practices, you don’t burn the company down,” the prosecutor said. “You don’t steal from the company in that way. You leave your job. You say, ‘Listen, this isn’t the place for me,’ and you walk away.”
According to the Inquirer, the accountant pleaded guilty last year to theft by deception and failure to pay income taxes on his unlawful earnings:
Officials at the company began to investigate Esposito in April 2019 after concerns were raised about a handwritten check for $18,500 that had been signed by him and had another signature that appeared to have been forged, the Prosecutor’s Office said.
In all, Esposito was able to divert $2,537,655 for his personal gain through 243 fraudulent transactions between 2005 and April 2019 by circumventing the company’s check-issuance procedures, authorities said.
Remy said Esposito had already paid back a substantial amount of his restitution, according to the Inquirer.
South Jersey man, 80, sentenced to 5 years in prison for stealing $2.5M from Moorestown company [Philadelphia Inquirer]
