Ex-exec admits $2.4M fraud

Former Cox VP spent money on pair of homes

A Paradise Valley woman and former Cox Communications vice president pleaded guilty to stealing $2.4 million from the company through a company credit card, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia.

Janet West, 48, served as a vice president of nationwide field marketing for the company and led the rollout of the company’s Gigabit high-speed Internet service, according to the office.

She was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and entered the plea Nov. 14.

West is a longtime Arizona resident who held other positions at the com-

pany, including vice president of sales and vice president of marketing.

“West defrauded a company that trusted her judgment as a vice president,” said U.S. Attorney Byung “BJay” Pak in a press release. “The temptation to steal via a credit card may be appealing. This defendant wishes she had thought twice about the potential outcome.”

Starting in 2011, West directed her assistant to use the assistant’s corporate credit card to pay a marketing company. However, most of the services that were paid for never were delivered, Pak said, and the funds went to West, who owned the company, SJJ LLC, according to court records.

West would approve the transactions when she approved the expenses on her assistant’s credit card, according to court records.

West falsified conflict-of-interest certifications with the company to conceal the embezzlement, he said.

West used most of the $2.4 million to pay for two houses in Arizona, he said. She agreed to forfeit her interest in those homes as part of her guilty plea. Court records show she agreed to forfeit a home on Clearwater Parkway in Paradise Valley and another on 25th Avenue in Phoenix to the U.S. government.

Her husband, Donald Bagley, will be entitled to as much as $50,000 from the sale of the Paradise Valley home, according to court records. Because of the plea deal, the government agreed not to force the forfeiture of Bagley’s 2015 Porsche Panamera.

Sentencing for West is scheduled for March 12 before U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg in Georgia, where Cox is headquartered. The court will decide on any sentence and restitution to be paid to Cox.

“This case should be an example that no matter your position, you cannot profit illegally or take advantage of your status in the company you were entrusted to work for,” said David LeValley, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is committed to making cases like this a strong deterrent to greed’s temptation.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Krepp and Kelly Connors are prosecuting the case.