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July 19, 2011

Edmond man pleads guilty in fraud

Defendant was Boldt Construction project manager

Mark Schlachtenhaufen The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — A 53-year-old Edmond man accused of defrauding a metro construction company pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday.

John Bradley Thomas, 53, of Edmond, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robin J. Cauthron to wire fraud and money laundering, U.S. Attorney Sanford C. Coats said.

Under the agreement, the defendant agreed to enter a plea of guilty to two counts, and he agreed to admit that while he was employed with Oklahoma City’s Boldt Construction Company, he committed the offenses.

The court will also order payment of restitution to the victims in the amount of $610,491.88, which includes $600,161.29 to the construction company and $10,330.59 to Asset Group, Inc. The two companies are not related.

At sentencing, Thomas faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge and up to 10 years in prison for money laundering.

From April 26, 2006, to Dec. 29, 2008, Thomas, a project manager for Boldt Construction Company, engaged in a scheme to defraud his employer by using false receipts and work orders to obtain $371,434.77, according to court records.

Prosecutors said as part of the scheme the defendant bought items for his personal use from Office Depot, Home Depot and Lowe’s using Boldt Construction Company credit cards and created false receipts to mask the purchases.

Steven Olson, president of a division of the Boldt Construction Company, which has its principal office located in Appleton, Wis., said the scheme used purely fictitious projects with purely fictitious customers. No actual customers were harmed. Olson said company values include honesty and integrity, which were violated in this case.

“This is so different from what Boldt stands for that we had to address it,” Olson said. “And we wanted to make it very clear to all employees in the company, and to all our customers and partners that we just do not tolerate this kind of behavior.”

The defendant began his employment with the company in business procurement regarding sales and marketing, according to court records. He was later promoted to vice president of business development. His duties involved marketing and sales and maintaining business relationships with clients, and he was the project manager for some projects.

As project manager, the defendant would set up jobs in the computer system, order materials, hire subcontractors, invoice customers and receive payments, according to court records.

He was provided business credit cards issued by Office Depot, Lowe’s and Home Depot for procurement purposes regarding his employment with the construction company, according to court records.

Invoices on and for local projects were prepared in Oklahoma City and sent to Appleton, Wis., where statements were prepared and sent to customers, and payments were made on the business credit cards which were used by the defendant.

On several occasions, per the defendant’s request, the checks were sent overnight delivery via UPS.



marks@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 108

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