Bookkeeper sentenced in fraud case; previously stole $60,000 from another company
The former bookkeeper (Arthur Jason Morales, also known as AJ Morales, 42) for Hyperikon, Inc. lighting company was sentenced June 7 to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay $227,543 for embezzlement. U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns also ordered him to pay $50,000 to the companys insurance firm. Morales pleaded guilty to wire fraud and 26 other theft related charges were dismissed. The federal probation department recommended two years in prison. His attorney had asked for one year of house arrest.
Morales wrote 28 checks to himself from the lighting companys bank account, according to the U.S. Attorneys office. He was being paid $8,000 a month for bookkeeping services which a prosecutor wrote was a high salary, but it didnt stop Morales from stealing. Morales scheme began in 2015 and it ended in March, 2016 when Hyperikon discovered Morales wrote a check for $16,274 to himself and cashed it.
FBI special agent Suzanne Turner said The FBI investigation revealed Arthur Morales fraudulently wired money to his personal bank account in regular increments over seven months.
A prosecutor filed documents that said
Morales once stole $60,000 from another company in 2014 and was sentenced to 60 days in jail in another state.
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