Second guilty plea in theft from Pleasant Grove company
Former controller earlier admitted stealing almost $5 million
A second defendant has admitted defrauding a Pleasant Grove heavy equipment company after its former controller pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $5 million.
William Charles Cooley Jr. pleaded guilty to a felony charge of access device fraud last month in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. Sentencing was set for July 20.
In his plea agreement, Cooley admitted he engaged in a scheme to defraud Holt of California from 2008-13 by obtaining a credit card linked to Holt’s account at Bank of the West and conducted unauthorized credit card transactions totaling $46,323.82.
The transactions were done through Holt’s “P-card” or purchasing account at the bank.
According to his plea agreement, worked in cahoots with Kevin Co, Holt’s then controller. Co and Cooley agreed that Cooley would use the credit card to pay personal expenses.
The plea agreement said Cooley, who was not a Holt employee, obtained the credit card from Co.
Last December, Co pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to his plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.
The company sued Co in June 2015 in Sutter County Superior Court.
According to the plea agreement, Co admitted that from 2008-15 he defrauded Holt through “hundreds of unauthorized credit card transactions on Holt’s credit account.”
The plea agreement, mirroring the Sutter County Superior Court lawsuit, said Co bought luxury cars, home furniture, season tickets for the San Francisco 49ers and Sacramento Kings, plus paid for plastic surgery expenses and spent about $1 million for the online video game “Game of War.”
Co’s plea agreement said “Individual A” and “Individual B” participated in Co’s scheme. Court documents did not indicate if Cooley was either individual.
In a related court filing, the federal government listed Co’s theft at $4,894,551.6, plus $2,912 in net proceeds from the liquidation of Bitcoin seized from Co, who is scheduled to be sentenced next month. Marysville office, 1530 Ellis Lake Drive Business hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.