A Little Rock man who admitted in February that he stole more than $225,000 from his employer, a local alcohol distributor, was sentenced Wednesday to a year and a day in federal prison.
Edward Lee Casey, 41, was also ordered to pay restitution of $225,184.47 to Glazer's Distributors of Arkansas, where he worked from 2001 through December 2012.
In a plea negotiation worked out by his attorney, Bill James of Little Rock, Casey pleaded guilty Feb. 17 to a single charge of mail fraud. He admitted that from sometime in 2010 through January 2014, he created phony invoices from a company he created and called Renaissance LLC, and then paid the invoices using Glazer's funds.
He admitted to U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. that he mailed the payment checks to a North Little Rock post office where he picked them up, then cashed them and deposited the money into his personal account.
The mail-fraud charge was punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, although federal sentencing guidelines recommended a lower penalty range within the statutory framework.
The extra day tacked onto the yearlong sentence makes it possible for Casey to be released early under certain conditions. Marshall ordered Casey to serve three years' probation after his release.
Metro on 09/23/2016