Winchester Man Sentenced to 51 Months for Defrauding Oil Company

LEXINGTON — A Winchester, Ky., man, who previously admitted that he stole over $3 million from his former employer, Apollo Oil, LLC, has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison.

Yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Danny C. Reeves sentenced Bradley Earl Taylor, 38, for wire fraud. Under federal law, Bradley must serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence. Following his release, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years.

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, deposited them into a bank account he opened in the name of BCW, and used the proceeds for personal gain.

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. In addition to his prison term, Taylor has also been ordered to make full restitution.

Taylor pleaded guilty to the offense in October 2015.

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

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