CLEARFIELD – A Philipsburg man was given a lengthy state prison sentence Monday for stealing money from a former employer and driving a stolen a car.
Zachary Corey Cooper, 35, pleaded guilty to felony counts of identity theft and access device fraud in one case for which he received a state prison sentence of 12 months to three years and to felony receiving stolen property and summaries in another.
The nine months to two years state prison sentence in the second case will run concurrent with the first sentence. He must also pay over $4,200 in restitution.
According to the affidavit of probable cause in the first case, on Aug. 23, police passed a black Jeep Cherokee with an invalid registration in Morris Township. They turned their car around and found the vehicle in a private driveway.
The vehicle had two occupants with Cooper being the driver. A trooper described him as being extremely nervous and having bloodshot eyes.
When they ran the vehicle’s identification number, they discovered the vehicle was listed as stolen by State College police.
The criminal complaint in the second case details how between Dec. 4, 2020 and Jan. 11, 2021, Cooper made numerous fraudulent credit card transactions totaling $4,334.46 by using his former employer’s company credit card.
Cooper had been fired by this employer on Nov. 28, 2020.
In his interview with investigators, Cooper claimed over $3,000 just appeared on his CASH APP account. He thought it was “like finding a quarter on the ground”.
