PLAIN CITY, Ohio — A former Union County brewery's chief operating officer was sentenced to more than two years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing more than $200,000 from the business.
According to Union County court records, Lyle Bigelow pleaded guilty to aggravated theft on Oct. 25, 2023. On Dec. 13, he was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.
In addition to the prison time, Bigelow was ordered to pay $107,014.92 in restitution.
The Union County prosecuting attorney's office said that in Oct. 2022, the CEO of Plain City's 1487 Brewery reported that one of their employees had been altering books to take money from their payroll and misusing a corporate credit card.
Investigators found that from 2021 through October 2022, Bigelow, who was the brewery's COO, had taken over $200,000 from the business by directing payroll payments into accounts opened under fake names that he controlled, as well as making unearned payments to himself.
He also used the company credit cards to make more than $14,000 in personal purchases from Amazon, the prosecuting attorney's office said.
The owner of the brewery told the court that Bigelow's theft nearly destroyed the business.
On Tuesday, 1487 Brewery announced that they will be permanently closing on Sunday, Feb. 4 "due to unforeseen circumstances."
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