Butler man admits to stealing nearly $1.5 million from electric company

A Butler man who served as his company’s controller pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to taking more than $1 million.

Paul Harmon, 63, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Nicholas Ranjan.

He will be sentenced on May 25.

Harmon worked for Fuellgraf Electric Company, as well as affiliated company, Technical Management Associates, for more than 40 years as the controller. The companies, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, provided electricians and related services to industrial and commercial customers in Pennsylvania and Florida.

Among his duties, Harmon had daily control of Fuellgraf’s finances, including maintaining check-writing authority, the office said.

Between October 2009 and December 2018, Harmon misappropriated $1.5 million in funds by manipulating the company’s books, prosecutors said.

He did so, the U.S. Attorney’s office said, by issuing more than $470,000 in duplicate or inflated payroll disbursements, sending approximately $500,000 in electronic payments to his personal credit card balances and issuing $80,000 in checks to himself and $200,000 in corporate checks written to cash.

Harmon also cut corporate checks written to an entity he controlled, PM Accounting, totaling $205,664.65. Those checks were purportedly written for work Harmon performed for the company, when prosecutors said, no such work occurred.

He was fired in December 2018.

Harmon was able to conceal the misappropriation by creating hundreds of false entries in the company’s books, prosecutors said.

As part of the plea agreement, Harmon agreed to pay restitution of nearly $1.5 million.