Lucas County man accused of embezzlement

A three-count criminal information was filed charging a Waterville man with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollas from Construction Contractors Employer Group LLC, said Carole S. Rendon, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

William H. Cook, III, 66, was charged with one count each of conspiracy, wire fraud and mail fraud.

Cook was president of AlphaCare Services Inc., which handled day-to-day operation of Construction Contractors Employer Group LLC. CCEG was formed in 2001 to collect, process and pay employment expenses of its members, such as payroll and worker’s compensation premiums. CCEG’s members were general contractors from Northwest Ohio, according to the information.

Instead of using the members’ money to pay designated expenses, Cook used much of it for his personal benefit. He did this by transferring CCEG funds into AlphaCare Services accounts and then writing checks payable to himself and others. He then used those funds for personal gain, according to the information.

For example, between September 2011 and June 2012, Cook caused wire transfers from CCEG’s account to AlphaCare’s account in excess of $200,000, according to the information.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after reviewing factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

The investigating agency in this case is the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in Sandusky, Ohio.  The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Gene Crawford.           

An information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.