A Chesterton man has pleaded guilty to misappropriating more than $100,000 from the Portage company at which he was formerly employed, the Porter County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said.

Hubert Lynn Edgemon II, 65, whose listed address was 1508 Washington Ave., pleaded guilty to the one count filed against him, Class C felony theft, punishable by a term of two to eight years, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mike Drenth told the Chesterton Tribune on Monday.

Felony theft is upgraded from a Class D to a Class C when the amount stolen exceeds $100,000, Drenth said.

Under his plea, Edgemon could receive up to five years in the Department of Correction and an additional three years on probation, Drenth said. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Jan. 22 before Porter Superior Court Judge Bill Alexa.

Also under his plea, Edgemon has agreed to make restitution of $150,000.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Det. Dennis Meters of the Portage Police Department, on Dec. 4, 2008, the PPD was contacted about a theft at IS Sales & Service, after a company executive discovered that Edgemon, his in-house accountant, had “diverted” company funds used for the purchase of equipment and supplies and “retained” those funds “for his personal use” or otherwise “shipped” them to other companies.

At the time, Meters stated in his affidavit, the total loss was estimated at approximately $3,300. For his part, the executive advised that he had terminated Edgemon and ordered a comprehensive accounting of the company books.

On Jan. 15, 2009, Meters stated, he was subsequently advised that Edgemon had written a total of 157 checks between December 2005 and December 2008, and that the company’s check register listed the payments as vendors, to other parties to which IS would normally make payments, and to Edgemon himself. When the actual checks were examined, Meters stated, more than 100 of the 157 were found to have been written to Edgemon to CASH or to pay his personal expenses.

The known initial three-year total at the time Meters filed his affidavit was $119,516.55.

Posted 12/15/2009