This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 38-year-old Utah man is facing theft and communications fraud charges after he allegedly defrauded the company he worked for and a southern Utah school district.
The former Poll Sound employee was charged last week in 5th District Court with the two second-degree felonies after his employer contacted police and alleged the man had ordered valuable equipment for the Washington County School District, but had instead installed inferior equipment in three schools.
Court records allege the more expensive equipment had been installed in a separate school outside of the county.
"It appears [the suspect] had been operating his own business on the side while employed by Poll Sound," a detective wrote in a probable cause statement filed in court. "They [the company] believed their equipment was stolen and installed in other contracts for his personal benefit."
St. George police detectives estimate that the Washington County schools lost about $34,000 in what was installed versus what they had ordered. Poll Sound also has about $89,000 worth of loss in unaccounted for equipment and contract issues, according to court records.
The man, who had been the manager of Poll Sound's St. George location, allegedly confessed to the crimes, according to the probable cause statement. He is expected to make his first appearance in a St. George courtroom on Thursday.
Twitter: @jm_miller