October 6, 2015

Winchester Man Admits Defrauding His Employer of Millions of Dollars

LEXINGTON—A Winchester, Ky., man has admitted to stealing over $3 million from his former employer, Apollo Oil, LLC.

On Monday, Bradley E. Taylor, 38, pleaded guilty to wire fraud, before U.S. District Court Judge Danny C. Reeves.

Taylor, who worked as Apollo’s operations manager, admitted that he created a fictitious supplier, called BCW, LLC, and falsified purchase orders, invoices, and other shipping documents, causing Apollo to issue checks to BCW for nonexistent products. Taylor then stole the checks issued by Apollo, deposited them into a bank account he opened in the name of BCW, and converted the proceeds to his personal use.

According to the plea agreement, from 2004 to 2014, Taylor caused Apollo to issue 232 checks to BCW, totaling $3,055,422.33. Taylor personally received all of this money.

Taylor waived his right to be indicted by a grand jury, was formally charged in court, and admitted to the charges.

Kerry B. Harvey, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Howard Marshall, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, jointly announced the guilty plea.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Boone is prosecuting this case on behalf of the federal government.

Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2016. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes.