STOCKTON — Bruce Wayne Hesse was sentenced to six months in county jail and three years of probation Monday after pleading no contest to one count of grand theft.
Hesse was charged after a criminal investigation by the sheriff’s department determined he had signed $21,000 in unauthorized checks for Farmington Fresh Co. in Stockton. He had also failed to make cash deposits of $83,000 for the company.
Between November 2013 and his dismissal in April 2015, Hesse is accused of embezzling a total of $113,714 from the company.
The 65-year-old former general manager pleaded no contest to the charge. Hesse had paid back $91,645 prior to sentencing and was ordered to repay the remaining amount, plus $12,731 in accounting fees.
The court ended up reducing the felony charge to a misdemeanor, citing the full advance payment, Hesse’s age and lack of criminal history as mitigating factors.
The district attorney’s office encourages businesses to maintain strong accounting controls such as rotation of duties, checks and balances and surprise audits to mitigate the threat of embezzlement.
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