CLEARFIELD – A former local businessman who spent time in prison for his involvement in a $3.6 million check-kiting scheme will soon work for Clearfield County Government.
Mark Michael of Clearfield was hired on Tuesday as the county’s deputy controller in the Controller’s office, effective on Monday, Aug. 24.
According to previously-published press releases from the U.S. Justice Department, Michael was one of three former Dart Trucking business executives charged in the scheme.
Michael, chief financial officer, Timothy Kephart, chief executive officer, and Lee Stoneburner, president, were all charged in August of 2011 through the U.S. District Court in Northern Ohio.
The scheme spanned an approximate 2.5-year period from October of 2007 until February of 2010, when bad checks were drawn against accounts at the Columbiana, Ohio Huntington Bank.
The department said the men conspired to kite checks to pay their bills, expenses and salaries by depositing bad checks into controlled disbursements accounts.
Michael and Kephart were both found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud in the scheme in June of 2013.
Michael was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison in September of 2013. Per LinkedIn, he’s previously worked as a senior accountant at Kephart Trucking and as a partner at Walter Hopkins & Co. LLP.
“I have no concerns,” Clearfield County Controller Tom Adamson told GANT News on Wednesday morning. “He will not have any financial responsibility.
“He will be doing bookkeeping, internal audit reviews, etc., and I’ll have all the financial responsibility for the county. I have no concerns, and he’s more than qualified to do the job.”