A 74-year old Edmond, Oklahoma man has admitted to embezzling more than $750,000 from the Oklahoma City energy company where he worked until two years ago.
The Oklahoma City U.S. Attorney announced that Odis Aubrey King pleaded guilty to embezzling the money and to filing a false federal income tax return.
U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester said that according to federal charges filed on February 15, 2019, King worked as an accountant from 2002 until August 2017 for a company in Oklahoma City that sold pipe handling tools for drilling rigs. He was responsible for preparing checks drawn on the company’s bank account and recording those payments in the company’s check register.
From July 2009 to July 2017, King forged the owner’s signature on over 200 company checks without the company’s permission or knowledge. He made the checks payable to himself and disguised the payments in the check register as legitimate business expenses. In total, King deposited approximately $755,000 into his personal bank account using forged company checks. He also did not report the embezzled funds as income on his federal income tax returns.
On March 28, King pleaded guilty to a single count of making and possessing a forged check written in October 2015, as well as a single count of filing a materially false federal income tax return covering calendar year 2014.
Sentencing will take into account the full scope of King’s embezzlement and tax fraud. He faces a sentence of up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the embezzlement count. He also faces a sentence of up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 for filing a false federal income tax return. Sentencing will take place in approximately 90 days.
These charges are the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Perry.
